Do we really want to obey - or enforce - speed limits?
Some pearls of wisdom from our letters to the editor column:
Responding to Transportation Writer Marni Pyke's column about the perils of merging via "cattle chute" onto the under-construction I-90, Matt Steichmann of Elgin said he and his wife got a good chuckle at a tollway spokesman's assertion the temporary ramps "are designed for safe access into the 45 mph work zone."
Steichmann pointed out, "If you try to drive 45 mph, you're passed by like a shot. We'd drive the Elgin-O'Hare extension when that was being improved and do 45-50 mph and we were taking our lives in our hands.
"You want to balance the state budget? Ticket speeders on the tollway construction zones who laugh at the 'Speed Limit Enforced by Camera' signs. Illinois will be in the black in a week."
That was undoubtedly tongue in cheek, but Terry Tallian of Wood Dale continued on the theme of enforcement putting cash in the state coffers.
"There are so many scofflaws out there, it's not funny. At the very least, 1 out of every 5 drivers is using a hand held cellphone or texting. Another frequent violation is 'yield to pedestrians in walkway.' What a joke. And there's the ever-popular stop for a stop sign. Rolling at speed through a right turn on red is also high on the charts.
"The politicians are so proud of the 'tough laws' they pass, but are toothless when it comes to enforcement," Tallian writes, suggesting that cops tag-team the ticket-writing process and that we find a way to crack down on judges who routinely dismiss tickets. "Instead of robbing law abiding drivers with more taxes, the lawmakers should get it from drivers who violate the law. It just might also make the roads safer."
The Daily Herald certainly has documented the motoring public's propensity for scofflawdom. A large chunk of the editorial staff took to the streets for the morning rush hour on a chilly October morning in 2014 to observe how many drivers were disobeying the state's then-new hands-free cellphone use law. The result was not surprising: For one hour, at 10 busy intersections, we observed 1,004 scofflaws. Topping the list was the intersection at Washington Street and Ogden Avenue in Naperville, where we saw at least 153 people texting or talking with a phone to their ears.
Ditto the disdain for the 45 mph speed limit in construction zones. We sent a driver and photographer into such a zone, where they took pictures and video of traffic passing them as if they were standing still. Except the drivers who, we supposed, thought our team might be an unmarked squad car. They'd approach slowly, and once convinced that was not the case, speed by, more than once with a middle finger extended.
And cops have taken to the streets in droves to combat rampant speeding. Several years ago, after a notoriously dangerous stretch of North Avenue was widened and divided, drivers celebrated by routinely driving it at speeds of 70 mph or so. That prompted Carol Stream police to start a "wolf pack" patrol of multiple officers to catch speeders by the handful.
Problem is, this hard-nosed approach doesn't play well in many quarters. I believe most drivers think of speed limits as a guideline rather than a hard-and-fast rule. Admit it, wouldn't you be supremely honked off if you got a ticket for driving 5 miles over the limit? I would. Look at the never-ending furor over red-light enforcement cameras. Their flaws are well documented, to be sure, but most of the outrage is saved for the notion this is a money-grubbing scam.
This is an issue no one wants to see letter-of-the-law enforcement. The late Schaumburg Mayor Herbert Aigner suggested in the 1980s officers write tickets if a driver was even one mile over the limit. The crackdown ensued, and the motoring public was incensed. Aigner quickly felt their wrath. "I'm the most unpopular guy in town," he said, "What am I supposed to say, 'Welcome to Schaumburg; drive as fast as you like."
jdavis@dailyherald.com.