Kansas troopers share top excuses from speeding drivers

Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers share some of the top excuses they hear after stopping drivers speeding through work zones.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Troopers have probably heard it all from people they stop for speeding.

In an effort to raise awareness about how dangerous highway work zones can be, Kansas troopers shared some of the most common excuses they get from drivers stopped for speeding in construction zones.

“They’re late to work is the number one excuse I get,” Lt. Cory Beard, Kansas Highway Patrol, said.

But the excuses don't stop there, Beard said. He's also heard a lot of drivers say they didn't see the lower-speed signs. Another common excuse is the GPS on a cell phone didn't tell them the speed was lowered.

Beard said he stopped a driver going 90 mph in a 55 mph construction zone in the Kansas City area last year.

“They knew exactly what they were doing," Beard said. “Some people just flat out don’t obey the speed limit sign.”

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tiffany Baylark agrees.

She said she hears all kinds of excuses about speeding through construction zones, but the one she hears the most is "there's nothing going on."

Baylark said that just because people aren't working in the construction zone, there could be other dangers. Trooper Baylark said a work zone can also warn that driving lanes have have been moved, or a traffic pattern has changed.

“I just didn’t see the signs,” is an excuse Trooper Chad Crittenden says he gets a lot. Crittenden said that excuse instantly tells him drivers simply aren't paying attention.

In the southwest part of the state, troopers hear a different excuse.

"I’m keeping up with the flow of traffic," Trooper Michael Racy said is the excuse he hears the most.

Construction workers are in a lot of danger. They often work just feet from where drivers are speeding past them. The workers rely on drivers to follow laws and to pay attention when they are driving through work zones troopers said.