The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is warning against excessive speeding on local roadways like I-4.
“We are informing people that it has criminal consequences now,” said PCSO Lt. Rob Walmsley.
In one case, a driver is facing jail time after deputies said they caught him hitting at least 120 mph on I-4 in Haines City Saturday morning. Walmsley said usually, by the time they catch up to the speeders, they rarely have a good reason for doing it.
“Head in the clouds, on their cellphone, distracted while they’re driving that way, they tell us that they don’t even realize that they’re going that fast,” said Walmsley. “There’s others that are blatantly out there racing.”
He says making I-4 safer is a priority for the sheriff’s office, ever since the highway earned a spot on a list of ‘The Most Dangerous Roads in the US’ back in 2020.
He said they’re seeing promising results, like fewer deaths, since a new law was put into effect last year.
“The people of Polk County know we’re out there, it’s the ones that may not come regularly that get the surprise,” said Walmsley.
The law changed last July for speeders going 50 mph over the posted speed limit and for those riding above 100 mph. Now, those drivers could spend up to 30 days in jail, or even have their license revoked for repeat offenses.
“It’s meant to be a deterrent for this kind of behavior because honestly, it’s kind of cliché, but speed does kill.”
Walmsley said drivers are also risking much more than their criminal record when they disregard the speed limits.
“The bad part about it is that it’s innocent people traversing the roadways without a clue,” said Walmsley. “How fast a car comes up on you when they’re going in excess of 100 mph, you’re not expecting that, and it’s affecting people more than we’d like to admit.”
He said for those who have legitimate emergencies happen to them in the car, instead of speeding, they want you to dial 9-1-1 and pull over. They won’t send you a police escort, but they will send a trained first responder.
Come out to Medulla, Grady. It will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Just make sure they can’t see you from half a mile away.