THE CHIEF'S VIEW
This is a question that everyone who has received a ticket has asked themselves. This is also the tragic question loved ones have asked after a family member was killed due to speeding.
Sadly the answer is "no."
Speeding does not save you any time, is harder on your vehicle, and costs you more gas money. Here is some math that proves that point. It is exactly 12.3 miles from the Minneota Police Department to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office in Marshall. To make the math easier, we will say the speed limit for the entire distance is 60 mph, so it will take you approximately 12 minutes to drive to Marshall from Minneota (The truth is that in Minneota the speed limit is 30 mph and in Marshall there is a section that is 40 mph and 30 mph along with a stop light). If you were to drive at 70 miles per hour, the same trip would take approximately 10.5 minutes. So, by going 10 mph over the speed limit, you only save 1.5 minutes.
If a driver is paying attention and not talking on their phone, texting, eating, or doing one of the hundreds of other things we do in our cars, the emergency stopping distance at 60 mph is 150 feet. At 70 mph, the stop distance is 204 feet, assuming it is under perfect conditions. If your reaction time is slower because you aren’t paying attention due to other distractions, you may not have enough time to stop before hitting another vehicle, animal, or person.
I have started to write more tickets in Minneota for speeding because the risk to someone’s life is not worth the seconds you are going to save on your trip. I have also seen more Minnesota State Troopers and Lyon County Sheriff's Deputies stopping speeders for the same reason.
A speeding ticket will cost you approximately $120 or more for each violation. If you get three moving violation tickets in one year you could lose your license. Forbes Magazine did an article claiming that a speeding ticket may raise your insurance premium by 10 percent. Are you willing to pay fines and higher insurance rates simply to save a minute or two off of your trip?