Florida Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad got a speeding ticket for doing 44 in a 35 mph zone. Soon afterwards, the Department conducted a speed survey of the road, and raised the speed limit:
Police used driveways, side-streets, and a strip mall to catch speeding motorists. And then one night police stopped the wrong guy. State DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad. He was cited for doing 44 in a 35. “I was at fault, so she wrote the ticket and I did the driver’s ed. All is good”, says Prasad. He added, “started getting a lot of phone calls about people getting ticketed going through that stretch”.
He ordered a study.
The mathematically weighted study came back saying the road could handle a limit of 47 miles per hour. “Our study did show that it was artificially constrained”, says Prasad.
The city complained, saying the higher limit went against their efforts to create a walkable environment. Prasad prevailed the road is now posted at 45.
Business owners say the police have disappeared. “We haven’t seen them recently. Not since last six months”, says BJ Joshi, business owner.
Reporter: “That’s when they changed the limit”.
Systemic Failure 
[…] on the Network today: Systemic Failure reports that Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad raised the speed limit on a street to 45 mph […]
It’s good to be the King!
What is the road in question- could we have that info so readers may google it to see and judge the situation for themselves?
The 85th Percentile strikes again!
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/11/the-85th-percentile-folly.html
Notice now outdated 35 mph sign
http://goo.gl/maps/yhmIF
Who would ever want to walk across or bike along that street? How can the pleas of local businesses mean nothing? So sad.
[…] Florida Secretary DOT Raises Speed Limit After Getting Ticket « Systemic Failure – There I Fixed It… […]
Glad I got my education there and left. $h!t like this is why I left Florida (and the east coast). Too many douchebags. Would love to hear a convincing argument about why I should live in Florida, or any east coast state. BTW…I live in Seattle. Oh…and NO…I DON’T prefer 90+ degree temps for over half the year with hurricanes. And Seattle has less rain than you…check the facts before responding. Thanks!
And people say politicians never get stuff done!
Here’s a good one I found today, randomly:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/187630111_Rail_shortcut_s_gone.html?page=all
NJTransit puts up fence to prevent people from crossing the tracks as they have been doing for decades; forcing riders to walk a circuitous route along a highway to get to the station. Safety!
Mr Engineer: do follow this link.
It’s got so much everything wrong with US transit (think Caltrain “planning” and stations), all rolled up into one steaming pile.
[…] is a state DOT led by a man who recently raised the speed limit, over local protests, on a street where he was ticketed for speeding. Where 800 police officers […]
[…] is a state DOT led by a man who recently raised the speed limit, over local protests, on a street where he was ticketed for speeding. Where 800 police officers […]
[…] it’d also be nice if Prasad — who, after recently being ticketed for speeding, raised the speed limit on the very street where he was caught — would practice what he preaches. There is a culture […]
The state of Florida is very good at tromping on local governments. Not all states are like that.
[…] February, Systemic Failure reported that the head of Florida DOT, Ananth Prasad, raised the speed limit on a street where he […]