CHP officers are seeing a rise in egregious speeding around the region, and they want you to know they're still writing tickets despite there being far fewer cars on Bay Area roadways and barely any traffic. So set aside those dreams of joyriding on an empty highway and testing the limits of your car without consequence during shelter-in-place orders.
CHP Santa Rosa has issued a couple of warnings recently on Twitter using the hashtag "#werestillouthere" to let would-be speedsters know not to flout speed limits despite the open roads.
"It’s a recipe for disaster," says CHP Officer John Franzen, the spokesperson for CHP Golden Gate, speaking to the Press Democrat. "Vehicles are just not designed for a 100 mph-impact crash."
Reports have been coming in from social media from CHP divisions around the region, including the ones below from Santa Rosa.
"People are going a little bit too fast with less people out on the road," says Santa Rosa CHP spokesperson Officer David deRutte. "The roads seem wide open but we’re still out there with the same amount of officers working."
What is a safe speed in the rain? It’s definitely not 95 mph. Slow down! #werestillouthere #CHP #patience pic.twitter.com/Cchckdp7l7
— CHP Santa Rosa (@CHPSantaRosa) March 28, 2020
Slow down! We can’t say it enough. We’re still out here with the same amount of officers on the road as there were before the shelter in place order. Traffic may be lighter but the speed limit didn’t change. Slow down and be safe! pic.twitter.com/vQofKEE9AX
— CHP Santa Rosa (@CHPSantaRosa) March 29, 2020
Total anarchy hasn't quite taken hold yet, folks, and the cops are out there with their radar guns. You may want to save your speed tests for parts of the desert where there is literally no one.
Exact figures aren't in, but over the last two weeks of the Bay Area-wide lockdown, the trend is pretty clearly there — people see an open highway and they want to gun it.
As CHP Golden Gate tweeted over the weekend, "There's no faster way to get a suspended license than driving 100mph+!"
SPEEDING CITATIONS ON THE RISE 🏎🚓
— CHP Golden Gate (@CHP_GoldenGate) March 27, 2020
We are seeing a rise in motorists traveling at excessive speeds in the #bayarea. We are still out in force and will continue to issue citations. There is no faster way to get a suspended license than driving 100mph+! pic.twitter.com/p4o2onjWWR