South Dakota Trooper Clocks Vehicle Driving at Shocking Speed

In South Dakota, drivers benefit from some of the highest speed limits in America, as the Mount Rushmore State is one of just seven states with posted limits of 80 miles per hour on certain roadways.

But that wasn't good enough for one driver recently.

Monday night (February 16), a trooper with the South Dakota Highway Patrol clocked a vehicle doing a whopping 138 miles per hour on an undisclosed stretch of road.

The SDHP is now using that incident as a teachable moment on their Facebook page.

According to the state's latest Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Summary, there were 18,686 accidents in South Dakota in 2024; more than 1,600 involving excessive speed.

Those nearly 19,000 crashes resulted in 4,731 injuries, 146 fatalities, and did $157 million in damages.

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30 Ways You Might Have Already Broken the Law Today

Most of us try the best we can to be law-abiding citizens, but did you know that you may have been breaking the law without even realizing it?

BestLifeOnline has a list of 30 of the most common transgressions. How many have you been guilty of over the years?

Out of 30, I am guilty of 19. And no I won't tell you which ones.

Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com

What Did South Dakota's License Plate Look Like the Year You Were Born?

The first number on a South Dakota license plate is the county that the car is registered. For example, Pennington county where Rapid City is has a '2' starting its plates. In Sioux Falls you have either a '1' or a '44' depending on your relationship to 57th street.

When established in 1956 (and revised in 1987) the first nine counties were ordered by population. Starting with 10 they are in alphabetical order through Ziebach, with Oglala Lakota County (65) and Todd (67) rounding out the list.

Today the top 10 plate numbers and populations don't correlate anymore. 1 and 2 are still 1 and 2, but Lincoln (44) is now 3rd in population. Beadle is 4 but it's now 11th in population. See the list by population here.

On January 1, 2023, South Dakota started issuing a new license plate design for license plates.

So, let's take a look back at what South Dakota license plates looked like over the last 100 years.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

The Most Road Rage Inducing Spots in Sioux Falls

More than anything, I'm holding out for Star Trek transporter technology. I'm not necessarily not excited about driverless cars. I for sure would be happy to not have to drive anymore. But, I don't want to do that until EVERYONE ELSE does it too.

Driving is not worth it. Even in Sioux Falls, there are plenty of opportunities to send your blood pressure into the red when wading through traffic.

Road Rage and driving in Sioux Falls go hand in hand, so much so that when we asked locals "Where do you get the worst road rage in Sioux Falls?" people had very strong opinions:

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

Source: South Dakota Trooper Clocks Vehicle Driving at Shocking Speed

Filed Under: South Dakota Highway Patrol, Crime

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