Reader comments
I-80 drivers urged to slow down

But without speed limit enforcement and ticketing the speediers the DOT is wasting its breath. People know that they wont' get tickets for speeding and will do it anyway. The UDOT and UHP got laws passed to double fines in construction zones and made a big public outcry for the need of this law yet they have yet to enforce the law. Except in an after the fact situation when someone is killed or injured working on the project, then the driver is like a lamb gone to slaughter. Allowing common law driving, no enforced speed limits, does not serve the public nor the driving laws of Utah. Any law enforcement officer should be authorized to issues speeding tickets on any freeway but all fines should go to the state, not the cities the freeway passes through. And if any officer ignores speeders and allows speeding then they should be held accountable. How can a driver ingoring speed laws be held accountable when speeding laws are not enforced before someone is killed? I have witnessed too many law enforcement officers ignore the violations of driving laws, on and off the freeway and it makes me upset when they ignore it.

"I-80 drivers urged to slow down."

Urged? How 'bout handing out some speeding tickets? Would that be enough "urging?" Unfortunately, the Highway Patrol has been winking at speeding for so long that the driving public thinks it's a God given right. If the cops would get their buttocks out onto the freeway and start pulling people over the speeding problem would go away.

"Saving 20 seconds isn't worth risking serious injury to yourself or others."

Maybe. Depends on how big a hurry I'm in, but more importantly it depends on the meaning of "risking serious injury." If the risk is quite small (which in this case it is), then taking that risk in exchange for a small but tangible benefit may very well be worth it.

A lot of really bad public policy gets made when people look only at the possible bad results without taking into account the low probability that the result will occur. Just ask the smokers.

We had the same problem for years in California.
Most highway caonstruction zones in California now has a CHP with all his lights on blinking at the entrance to the construction zone during working hours.
While it has not totally solved the problem it has made a major difference.

UHP should be allowed to install cameras that measure a vehicle's speed and take a photo of those that are speeding. The tickets could just be mailed directly to the vehicles owners. Then the speeders could really determine if breaking the law was worth it.

>>A lot of really bad public policy gets made when people look only at the possible bad results without taking into account the low probability that the result will occur. Just ask the smokers.<<

Probability (even the low variety) means that, eventually someone will die. I'm surprised that you are willing to risk dying, or worse killing someone, for a few seconds saved. Slow down and live.