Speeding is a fact of life on Maine’s highways. It’s also a fact of death.

Excessive speed has been identified as one of the biggest factors in fatal automobile crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 30 percent of highway fatalities involved excessive speed.

On Aug. 29 and Sept. 5, the Sun Journal published the results of an extensive study of speed on the state’s highways. Some of the findings are unsettling.

Most people, at some point, drive too fast. Enforcement is often inconsistent, and there are no clear standards for ticketing and prosecution. Much is left to the discretion of individual officers and district attorneys.

The state does not adequately track and compile data on traffic enforcement. Most of the world operates in a computer environment, but when the Sun Journal began its investigation, reporters were forced to look through individual citations, stored haphazardly in cardboard boxes. The citations were not sorted according to disposition, violation, date or any meaningful way.

And finally, some drivers take their own life and the lives of others for granted. Andy Shevenell spoke candidly to the Sun Journal about his driving habits. They are disturbing, to say the least. He says he’s had at least 10 tickets – following 20 police stops – since he got his license when he was 16. He’s only 23 now. He says his most recent citation was for driving 111 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Police officers, district attorneys and judges should be allowed to apply their experience and expertise in the case of speeders. But, as it stands, too much is being left unspoken. The vast majority of tickets are written on drivers going between 15 mph and 29 mph over the limit. Drivers know it, and so the speed limit is artificially raised.

For the state to tackle speeding enforcement strategically, it needs data. There should be a better system for collecting, processing and storing data – one that is open for public scrutiny and easily accessible.

And dangerous drivers need to feel the sting of the law before they cause a serious crash. Shevenell may be confident in his car and his driving abilities, we are not.