CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa State Patrol said the daily death rate on Iowa’s roads for 2023 was 20% higher than the 5-year average.

Last year, the state of Iowa teamed up with several other states to try and reduce the number of fatalities, but the Iowa State Patrol says it hasn’t worked. State Trooper Bob Conrad said they were seeing more people not just speeding, but hitting the triple digits. The state patrol has had numerous social media posts showing cars it pulled over going in excess of 100-mph, like a car just outside Dubuque clocked at 115-mph, or a driver in Johnson County who was traveling at 123-mph. In the first two months of the year, the patrol has written 117 tickets to drivers going more than 100-mph, and a speed that’s leading to deaths.

Trooper Conrad said it boiled down to distracted driving; people not noticing how fast they’re going. With warmer weather approaching, the Trooper worries about how many more people won’t be able to make it home safely.