Speed, I am Speed, but speeding has consequences, and that’s what you need to know before you try to be Lightning McQueen.
In Missouri, speeding for teens is disproportionately high, at nearly triple the national average, according to research done by WalletHub in 2025. Senior Jack Shroyer, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, was pulled over in May for speeding.
“I have been caught speeding, and I had to go to court for it. I was coming over a hill, going 21 over, and the cop was just sitting right there, and I knew I was getting pulled over, and sure enough, I did,” Shroyer said.
While speeding can be fun and exciting, consequences like having to go to court or jail could be the price to pay. Shroyer did not end up having to attend court, as his lawyers got his violation bumped down to a non-moving violation the night before he was supposed to appear, but he still had to pay quite a bit of money to the court. His lawyer called his work “the first one is free,” but lawyer fees can hit your wallet. Despite all of this, it does not seem that he has learned his lesson.
“I mean, I love speeding, speeding’s awesome, it’s so fun to feel like you’re going fast and doing all that fun stuff,” Shroyer said. “But I understand why it has consequences because it is dangerous. Really, you’re going 20 over to get there a few minutes faster; it doesn’t shave off that much time that people make it out to. But I think speeding is fun, but I understand both sides.” Shroyer stated.
Senior Noah Smiley is also no stranger to speeding, but has not had any legal system consequences yet.
“On the backroads, I’ll go like 60 if it’s a 35,” Smiley said.
While he says he enjoys speeding, he is conscious of where and when he definitely shouldn’t be, and other traffic laws he always obeys.
“Don’t speed if it’s rainy, and like you obviously still obey traffic laws other than, you know, the speed limit, you [still] stop at stop signs.”
Smiley did not say he necessarily encouraged speeding, but said he encouraged “efficient driving.”
