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Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. today, members of the Des Moines Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol completed the first of several traffic enforcement projects as a part of the "Alive on I-235" enforcement effort.
In the roughly six hours that law enforcement patrolled east and west traffic on I-235 in Des Moines between Pennsylvania and 2nd Avenue, officers issued 189 citations -- 31.5 each hour.
- 112 speeding
- 23 failure to move over or slow down
- 12 failure to use seat belts
- 7 driving without a license
- 10 no insurance
- 7 no valid registration
- 14 tinted windows
- 2 driving under suspension
- 1 failure to signal
- 1 possession of drug paraphernalia
The speeding record of the day belong to the driver traveling at 91 miles per hour in a 55 zone.
The project is intended to reduce accidents on the freeway through Des Moines. Today's activity is just one of several that will happen in the coming months.
Comments (6)
Holy crap! That's a ticket every 2 minutes!
Posted by Lorna | April 24, 2008 9:45 PM
Posted on April 24, 2008 21:45
I've heard these stings or "projects" are going to be happening on I-235 throughout the summer. I guess they no longer have the construction to tie up traffic, so they have to come up with something.
Posted by Melissa | April 25, 2008 7:23 AM
Posted on April 25, 2008 07:23
I've had several friends come in for visits who reported feeling forced off of I-235 by drivers zipping past them. When I was new to Des Moines, I had the same feeling. What many local drivers don't realize is that speed limits in metropolitan areas are 55 MPH, or even 45 MPH, due to rush hour volume and/or because many non-local drivers, people who need to read exit signs as well as to pay attention to traffic, are on the road. The slower speed limit helps prevent accidents and saves lives.
There has been much discussion in the local media about these I-235 stops, much of it leaning towards the idea of wasting time. However, I keep thinking of the news story when police started enforcing mandatory seat belts. One woman was ticketed and then started wearing her seat belt. A few days later, she was in an accident and walked away because she was wearing the seat belt.
Posted by M.R. Field | April 26, 2008 9:33 PM
Posted on April 26, 2008 21:33
Wow, Good news! I never speed and I really dislike it when I see people blow by me
Posted by Support McKinley Bailey | April 29, 2008 5:45 PM
Posted on April 29, 2008 17:45
Are you sick? It isn't like you not to update the blog regularly. Hope all is well
Posted by Joanie | May 1, 2008 8:03 AM
Posted on May 1, 2008 08:03
This is a better solution than they tried in Houston when I used to live down south. In a campaign to slow down drivers the Texas State Patrol one time lined up four cruisers in a row and drove the speed limit down the expressway. They abandoned the practice after they found out that they had caused dozens of rear end accidents in their wake. Unsuspecting drivers would pop over a hill to meet the slowed traffic and plowed into them. The aren't real bright in Texas sometimes.
Posted by Chris Wilcox | May 4, 2008 10:16 PM
Posted on May 4, 2008 22:16