9.7.21 – KFOR
Over the weekend, a trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol pulled over a driver going 150 miles per hour in Oklahoma City.
Troopers say not only is this behavior dangerous, but it’s on the rise in Oklahoma.
“The amount of people that we’re clocking on radar traveling more than 100 miles per hour has doubled in the past couple of years,” said Major Ronnie Hampton, with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Hampton says the trooper clocked the driver going 150 miles per hour on the Kilpatrick Turnpike near Portland in Oklahoma City.
He says a crash at that speed likely wouldn’t be survivable.
“When you kill someone else in a crash, I don’t think there’s a single district attorney in this state, if they knew someone was traveling over 100 miles per hour, wouldn’t prosecute them for second-degree murder,” Hampton said.
He says it’s reckless and senseless.
“I do not know why people are driving at speeds that fast,” said Hampton. “If you’re traveling a short distance of 10-12 miles and you’re traveling 10-15 miles over the speed limit, you honestly won’t make it to your destination more than 90 seconds quicker.”
Hampton says troopers are trained to spot and stop these speedy drivers.
“I wish we could put people in jail that were going 150 miles per hour for just simply driving 150 miles per hour, but that’s not currently the way the law works,” he said.
But Hampton says drivers will pay the price.
“It’s going to be expensive, it’s going to put points on your driving record but most importantly you could kill somebody or hurt someone,” Hampton said.
A ticket for going 10 miles over is $100 and the costs rise significantly from there.
Reckless driving can cost you upwards of $500.