Many See Cavalierness Toward Traffic Laws

The question is knowing when a law is reasonable. A number of states have been cracking down on traffic offenders in "safety corridors" — accident-prone stretches — by doubling fines, raising fines in work zones, or targeting repeat offenders like Janklow. Michigan is starting to make penalties progressively worse as points accumulate on a driving record.

But in Texas, a bill to raise fines for speeders driving more than 25 mph over the limit went nowhere this year. West Texas lawmakers argued that it was unfair, despite the fact that drivers could still fly down many rural interstates at 94 mph without a $500 fine kicking in.

"People here drive at astronomical speeds," says Dave Willis, director of the Center for Transportation at the Texas Transportation Institute. "They blow through stop signs all the time because they think they can get away with it."

Willis favors a solution he admits would be unpopular — camera systems that photograph anyone driving fast or ignoring red lights. With police stretched thin, they would make enforcement more consistent, he says, and studies show they deter speeding.

That's why Scottsdale, Ariz., put cameras at intersections and dangerous stretches in 1997. The state was No. 1 in red-light running, and speeding was getting out of control, according to Bruce Kalin of the Scottsdale Police Department. Since then, intersection crashes, speeding tickets, and red-light tickets have all gone down. The process is supported by the vast majority of Scottsdale citizens.

What Kalin and safety proponents share is a conviction that crashes like Janklow's could easily be avoided.

"We could save thousands and thousands of lives if we could just get people to drive responsibly," he says.