Wyo Highways Have Dangerous People Driving Them: Cop Explains

In the middle of the Wake Up Wyoming morning show, a Wyoming State Trooper called to talk about how dangerous speeding has become in the state. You can hear that phone call at the bottom of this article. 

According to a story I had just read on air, although the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused people to drive less in 2020, many of those who did drive were driving faster, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Those numbers have not dropped in 2021.

Wyoming Highway Patrol saw a 15 percent decrease in speed citations issued while seeing a 29 percent increase in speed citations being issued in excess of 100-plus mph.

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Officer Rick, as I called him on-air, is a Wyoming State Trooper who has seen just a few too many wrecks and is tired of arriving on the scene to deal with the mangled bodies.

During the phone call, Officer Rick called people indifferent to the dangers and more distracted than ever by the devices in their vehicles. 

Some might think that cops are just out there to make money for the state, by handing out tickets, and maybe they are all just jerks who don't want us to have a good time. But a few minutes of listening to officer Rick will change a person's perspective.

Wyoming experienced 147 fatalities in 2019 and as of June 15, 2020, there have been approximately 37 fatalities per the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) and Wyoming Electronic Crash Records System (WECRS). Wyoming is on course to meet the goal of a five (5) year rolling average of less than 128 fatalities for FY2020. (Wyoming Highway Report).

So, while some of the faster drivers out there might think it's no big deal, officer Rick would like some of those speedsters to come with him the next time he has to deal with a wreck, caused by speeding.

Officer Rick's call to the show can be heard below.