Everyone has people to see, and places to go, and as a result, everyone speeds. Recently the California Highway Patrol has been cracking down on the overwhelming amount of speeders on San Jose’s ever-populated freeways. According to a recent article published in the San Jose Mercury News, speeding is the main cause of two out of three highway deaths in the state, and is a growing problem for CHP, who have significantly less officers patrolling the highways than they did 30 years ago. The new five-trooper unit, assembled solely to cite people for traffic violations, has been handing out tickets like they were public service pamphlets for the good of mankind. In 2006 the entire San Jose CHP division gave out 4,155 tickets total, which averages 346 tickets per month. However, with the new patrol, 1,744 tickets were written in January alone; 1,369 of which were for speeding. This crackdown is not what Santa Clara County needs, and the new CHP unit is putting the focus in the wrong place. These highways run through the heart of Silicon Valley, a place where thousands of people commute to work everyday and have busy schedules. Going 80 or 85 miles per hour on the freeway is not uncommon for students who have to drive to and from school using 880 and 280 five days a week. Obviously, a person deserves a ticket if they are driving recklessly and endangering the lives of others. But if they are driving speedily and have plenty of open space in front of them to safely do so, then they should be left alone. Oftentimes the people who are going between 65 and 70 often are more hazardous than those putting the petal to the metal. It is universally understood and accepted that the real speed limit on 280 is 80, not 65. If you obey the rules and go 65, within minutes you will have multiple cars angrily speeding passed you on their way to starting or ending their hectic day. Putting officers on duty exlusively to bust speeders is like putting them in a candy store. This new freeway unit seems more like a ploy for the city to make money off of its hard working citizens, and less like a plan to keep its citizens safe.