PORTLAND, Ore. — While traffic is down, it seems the percentage of those driving recklessly is up, or at least they're more visible.
"We are getting speeds in the 90s and 100s on a regular basis," said Sgt. Ty Engstrom with Portland police.
"The majority of what we are stopping people for right now is for speeding. Of the speeding citations, the majority of them are for 21-30 mph over the speed limit, which is a Class B violation and carries a $270 fine," he said. "We are still seeing many speeds far in excess of that as well."
Example: North Portland, about two weeks ago near the Peninsula Crossing Trail, maybe the crosswalk on Lombard doesn’t scream loud enough. So there’s not one, but two overhead signs warning about high pedestrian and cycling traffic crossing the path.
The woman actually flinches when it's clear to her the guy coming the other way isn't gonna stop.
The sun must have been in his eyes.
OK same trip, hey man… that's a stop sign and a crosswalk you just blew right through.
You’d think by this point, that even the drivers usually in the biggest of hurries would realize their trip to grocery store takes them half as long as it used to.
All kidding aside, there are likely more people out walking, with their pets, and kids...at more irregular times than before the stay-home order kicked in -10:30 on a Tuesday morning or 3:45 on a Thursday afternoon. Slow it down already huh?
And then there’s ever popular N. Kirby Avenue U-Turn. You know the one exiting the Fremont Bridge, where it’s clearly marked “No U-Turn”. We actually featured this as one of our first in the Driving Me Crazy series.
With traffic cut in half, I’d love to hear the excuses traffic cops hear these days.
If you are out, walking or driving, keep your head on a swivel.
I do the Driving Me Crazy feature as a generally -- but not always -- lighthearted take on things that drive people nuts on area roadways. Most of us can relate, and most of these topics are your ideas. What drives you crazy? Post your videos and pictures on my Facebook page. On Twitter. Or if you're just anti-social (kidding) you can email me cmcginness@kgw.com
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