Nebraska troopers stopped 8 100 mph speeders last weekend

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lt. Kaleb Bruggeman of the Nebraska State Patrol remembers a certain traffic stop years ago, one that still races through his mind.

“I believe the highest speed I ever had was just outside of Lincoln, between Lincoln and Waverly, I believe it was an Audi doing 142 miles an hour,” he said. “I remember that today. I took a picture of my radar because it was one of those that you will never forget.”

But today, those excessive speeds aren’t nearly as memorable because they’re happening more and more.

In 2020, the patrol saw an increase in speeders going over 100 mph.

In that year, there were over a thousand speeding citations given to those going triple digits. That number still hasn’t fallen to pre-pandemic levels.

In 2021, there were about 850 citations.

And this year already, over 350 citations have been given to speeders topping 100. Eight of those were over this past weekend.

A motorcycle was clocked going 145 mph in a 65 mph zone Tuesday in Omaha.

The state patrol says another bike was clocked traveling 122 mph on Interstate 80 near Odessa on Sunday.

It’s a trend that troopers are very concerned about.

“Well, anytime someone is going that fast, it just increases the risk for everything,” Bruggeman said. “Their reaction time is so much lower and the time it takes them to stop. And then there is traffic around them that’s not expecting them to be driving 100 miles per hour.”

The high speeds could continue as we head into summer.

Over the last five years, excessive speeding has increased over the summer months, according to data provided by the patrol.

“I think we’re averaging 65 citations a month, and then in the summer, it might go up to 75 a month,” Bruggeman said.

There is no definite reason for the increase in excessive speeding. But one theory is that less traffic during the pandemic made it easier for speeders to put the pedal to the metal.

But speeds like that have consequences.

Depending on the circumstances, the state patrol said there is a chance that someone going that fast could be arrested.

The patrol has been placing troopers in certain areas of concern to stop the dangerous dashers.

“We have recently been starting to do selectives around construction zones because speed with construction, it’s just a recipe for disaster,” Bruggeman said.