Salem Motorcyclists Nabbed for 139 MPH in a 55 MPH Zone

Breaking 100 mph carries a mandatory minimum 30 – 90 day suspension in addition to a $1,103.00 fine.

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(SALEM, Ore.) - Two Salem-area men were cited Saturday afternoon for Reckless Driving and Exceeding the Speed Limit in Excess of 100 MPH after an Oregon State Police trooper stopped them for allegedly going 139 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. It happened on a rural county road south of Independence.

Lieutenant Gregg Hastings with OSP says that around 12:50 PM Saturday, OSP Senior Trooper Michael Iwai was operating an unmarked OSP Dodge Charger southbound on Corvallis Road when two motorcycles passed him southbound in a no passing zone on a curve.

"As the motorcycles sped southbound, Senior Trooper Iwai accelerated and was able to confirm their speed on radar at 139 mph near the intersection with Davidson Road. Senior Trooper Iwai was able to stop the 2006 Yamaha and 2006 Honda motorcycles on the narrow county road which parallels Highway 99W without further incident."

The motorcycle operators were identified as 30-year old Jonathan J. Kleiman and 36-year old Shawn T. West, both of Salem. Hastings says they were cited to appear for Reckless Driving and Exceeding the Speed Limit in Excess of 100 MPH.

Oregon enacted tougher laws to address the excessive speeders in an effort to save lives. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, excessive speed is a factor in half of all traffic fatalities, and is the only factor in about 30 percent of those crashes.

As of January 1st 2006, Senate Bill 568 took effect specifying that driving a vehicle over 100 mph carries a mandatory minimum 30 – 90 day suspension in addition to a $1,103.00 fine. During the calendar year 2006, Oregon's DMV posted 405 court ordered suspensions for speeding while driving over 100 mph.

Statistics released in August 2007 by Oregon State Police of 2006 speed-related enforcement statistics reflected what OSP troopers continue to see – driving complaints rising and more drivers cited while traveling at dangerous speeds on our freeways and secondary highways. The review indicated driving complaints have nearly doubled since 2000, and approximately 16% more drivers were cited in 2006 at speeds 100 mph and faster in comparison to 2005.

According to OSP enforcement data, in 2006 OSP troopers issued 537 citations to drivers going 100 mph or faster. This was an approximate 16% increase in comparison to citations issued during 2005 when 464 citations were issued. Preliminary statistics also indicate OSP troopers cited about 150 more drivers for going 90 – 99 mph. Data also showed almost 42,000 driving complaints were reported to OSP dispatch centers as the complaints have risen each year since 2000 when over 22,700 complaints were recorded.

With these new enforcement numbers emphasizing the alarming high speeds driven on our highway, statistics also reflected a dramatic jump in the number of cited out-of-state drivers while the number of Oregon licensed drivers stayed nearly the same. OSP enforcement data shows 285 out-of-state drivers were cited, up from 217 cited in 2005. A total of 252 Oregon licensed drivers were cited in 2006, slightly up from 247 cited Oregon drivers during the previous year.
Source: Oregon State Police