Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Memo To The State Patrol

Officers, and your local counterparts:

You are leaving a lot of revenue on the table, and leaving highway workers exposed to needless risks, too, by the lack of enforcement into and through construction zones from State Highway 164 in Western Waukesha County on I-94 through the Marquette Interchange.

Individual knuckleheads that still race along that stretch in excess of the posted speed limits - - dropping in spots to 45 mph - - continue to drive that way with their menacing selfishness because there's no visible speed enforcement.

I was through that corridor today, in both directions, and saw only one law enforcement vehicle with its flashers on the shoulder, and that officer appeared to be assisting a motorist with a mechanical problem.

That's certainly a correct action, but the speeding that is going from Waukesha through the Marquette Interchange is ridiculous.

If you drive the speed limit in that corridor, you won't see any traffic enforcement, but you will get a ton of dirty looks and shaken fists from motorists who think it is their God-given right to drive at 70 mph or above even with "road construction ahead" signs and orange barrels everywhere.

WisDOT is running some heart-tugging "slow down" TV commercials aimed at motorists who zoom through construction zones.

Some ticket-writing would provide a bigger safety net than some TV spots for the workers out there as the idiots scream by.

2 comments:

  1. And where may I ask does it drop to 45MPH, and in this spot that you speak of, is it a black and white speed limit sign or a black and orange sign?

    Wisconsin work zone speed limits are 55MPH in construction zones along the interstates. If its not on a black and white sign it is only recommended to drive at that speed.

    Actually now that I think about it, I am going to use an analogy that some folks seem to like to use when it comes to drilling for oil. "Why enforce the speed limit, it won't have an effect now anyway"

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  2. The spot where it dropped to 45 was East of 164 and before the separate construction zone closer to the Milwaukee county line.

    I don't remember the color.

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