Police nab chronic speeders on I-79 in Carnegie
Share with others:
You're buzzing along at 75 mph on Interstate 79 near Carnegie when something catches your eye.
Oh, no! A speed trap!
Your foot instinctively recoils from the gas pedal. You know it's too late -- the state police have got you on radar, dead to rights, doing 20 mph over the posted limit.
But that's not fast enough. Not this day.
The staties let you go.
This is how bad it is on that wide-open stretch of I-79: Police staffing an enforcement detail on Tuesday didn't bother with anyone going slower than 80 mph. And still they wrote 106 citations in 41/2 hours.
The enforcement effort was in place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the Carnegie exit, Trooper Robin Mungo said. It was a nice day, there were some extra officers on duty, and they knew where they could find a lot of NASCAR wannabes.
"We realize there are a lot of people who speed through that area," she said, adding that the department has gotten many complaints from saner motorists about speeding and aggressive driving there.
"We gave a huge break to a lot of people," she said of the 80-mph threshold.
A citation for going 25 mph over the speed limit carries $169.50 in fines and costs, Trooper Mungo said. The grand prize to the motorist clocked at the fastest speed -- 92 mph -- was a $203.50 ticket.
While there is no set schedule, "I'm sure in the future we will be having details in other areas," she said.
First Published April 28, 2010 12:00 am
