You’ve probably seen a motorcycle fly past you in traffic.
You’re not necessarily imagining triple-digit speeds.
The Nebraska State Patrol earlier this week clocked an Omaha man on a low-slung sport motorcycle hitting a whopping 146 mph on the West Dodge Expressway. A patrol spokesman said the speed is among the highest the agency has clocked.
The patrol said the excessive speed highlights the hazards of dangerous driving by some sport motorcycle riders. The problem grows worse in summer as more of the bikers hit the road, with some riding only on the back wheel and pulling other stunts.
“They’re looking for their thrill,’’ said Lt. Kevin Bridges of the State Patrol in Omaha. “(But) it’s extremely dangerous.”
He said the speeding bikes are particularly dangerous for other motorists changing lanes. A motorist might check the lane one moment, and it’s open. But a few seconds later a cyclist will appear, because the bikes cover a lot of ground traveling at 100-plus mph.
Trooper Tom Hicken said the rider who hit 146 mph was eastbound on the expressway near 144th Street about 8 p.m. Monday, a time when there is steady traffic. The speed limit is 55 mph.
The cyclist, 28, weaved through cars and passed vehicles on the shoulder.
Bridges said it can be hard to catch speeding cyclists, but the State Patrol got some help from above on Monday.
A trooper in a State Patrol airplane clocked the rider’s speed using a stopwatch and then tracked the rider to an Omaha apartment building. The pilot radioed a trooper on the ground who found the rider, Hicken said. Hicken wasn’t the trooper who caught the cyclist but was familiar with the situation.
The driver was ticketed for speeding, careless driving, driving with a suspended license and having an unregistered motorcycle.
Cody Thomas, a spokesman for the patrol, said the agency has multiple aircraft and they are used regularly statewide to catch speeders.
Hicken tweeted about Monday’s speeder getting nabbed.
“We wanted to get the message out,’’ he said. “We are watching.”