“Dangerous.” “Really crazy.” “Race track.”
These are just some of the comments from Daily Herald readers fed up with speeding on local highways and toll roads after publishing a column on the subject on July 29.
Driver Marsha Bundt says, “The super-fast driving I see – along with the weaving back and forth between lanes and cutting off other drivers – is concerning. The highways often feel like I’m on a race track.”
The Hoffman Estates resident added, “I’ve seen some scary drivers on local roads as well. On Ela Road (which has some hills and blind spots), for example, people pass others who are doing the speed limit. I recently saw someone pass another car in front of me… right in the middle of downtown Palatine!”
A reader compared the highways in Illinois with the highways in Germany.
And Jeff Burkholder of Geneva said: “I have been driving across the United States and some European countries for over 50 years. I have not seen anything like what has developed on the Chicago-area highways since COVID-19.
“The most worrying thing about the way some people drive is not that someone is driving in the left lane at over 145 km/h, but that someone is overtaking on the right and others are randomly switching between lanes. I am really amazed that there are not more accidents and deaths.”
Others called for stronger enforcement.
“We regularly drive on I-90 from Elgin to northern Wisconsin, and I can’t remember ever seeing a police officer on that road except when they were called to deal with the smoking wreckage of a terrible accident,” said TK Petersen.
“The situation is serious. The state must strengthen its police forces in our area, otherwise there will be more and more fatal accidents on our highways.”
When Jim Guernsey of Pingree Grove and his wife turn onto the toll road, they wonder, “Why is there so much speeding, and more importantly, why is nothing done about it? I have never seen a cop stop anyone on I-90 in 10 years,” Guernsey says.
Frank Constant of West Dundee recently traveled to Niagara Falls in New York State.
“We drove on I-90, I-294 and I-80/90,” he said. “In Illinois, we didn’t see a single police car. In Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, we saw police cars parked on the interstates and moving with the traffic.”
When asked about concerns about speeding, Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police, said the agency is strategically deploying its patrol officers due to staffing issues.
“As everything changes over time, ISP must change too. Through a data-driven approach, ISP has deployed resources across the state where they are most needed. On January 1, 2023, ISP transitioned its 21 patrol districts across the state to 11 patrol squads. The transition to (patrol) squads will allow more officers to respond to emergency calls 24/7,” Arnold said.
“This modernized patrol structure will enable ISP to better meet the needs of the public while addressing the nationwide shortage of police officers.”
The agency has so-called “Fatal Four Teams” deployed across the state to combat speeding, failure to wear seatbelts, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and distracted driving, Arnold added.
ISP also conducts special traffic enforcement patrols across Illinois each month that focus on “Fatal Four” violations, she said.
Several readers recommended using technology such as cameras to deter lawbreakers.
“Cameras could be placed in different locations and moved from time to time. Violators would be mailed a hefty fine and threatened with having their license revoked,” suggested Jim McKevitt of Naperville.
Chicago uses speed cameras at more than 160 locations near parks and schools to ticket traffic offenders.
But current Illinois state law prohibits the use of license plate readers to track minor offenses such as speeding on expressways and highways, Arnold said, but the technology is approved for use in solving violent crimes such as shootings and car thefts.
According to Arnold, the ISP monitors more than 300,000 miles of roadway in total, including 2,185 miles of interstate highways and 15,969 miles of state highways. In 2023, the ISP issued 151,631 speeding tickets/citations.
