AUGUSTA – Speeding convictions in Maine increased only slightly from 2001 to 2006, but convictions have tripled – a 300 percent increase – for the most serious violation: those who drive 30 mph or more above the limit.

“And those are just the ones that were caught and convicted,” said Col. Patrick Fleming, chief of the Maine State Police. “There is no doubt in my mind that we have a serious problem with excessive speed.”

While overall speeding convictions increased over the five years by less than 2 percent, the state recorded 174 convictions for traveling 30 mph or more above the speed limit.

“We get reports every week from the speed details, and some are really unbelievable,” Fleming said.

For example, Trooper Bob Byron stopped a driver for going 97 mph on Interstate 95 earlier this year. He reported that the driver disputed the speed, arguing that his cruise control was set for 90 mph. The speed limit on that stretch of I-95 is 65 mph.

Speeds routinely in excess of 100 mph are showing up in the weekly reports Fleming gets from the troop commanders, and he is concerned that “driver distractions” can be fatal at such high speeds.

“There are a lot more people driving those speeds and they’ve got their BlackBerries, they are on their cell phones, they are doing their paperwork,” he said. “And it has just increased the danger to everyone out there.”

Aroostook County Sheriff James Madore, president of the Maine Sheriffs’ Association, said excessive speeds are not seen just on the interstate and the Maine Turnpike. He said it is not uncommon for deputies or police to stop drivers going 30 mph over the limit on secondary roads and in areas with homes where children may be playing near the road.

Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and retired chief of the South Portland Police Department, said last week that while speeding has always been a problem that has plagued law enforcement, the number of excessive speeders is on the rise.

“Speeding has always been a highway safety issue, but with these high speeds the danger to everyone increases,” Schwartz said. “Police all over the state are trying to deal with this and everything else they have to do.”

Why people are driving faster is an issue law enforcement officers have discussed at conferences and meetings in Maine and across the country.

The consensus: Several factors are contributing to higher speeds. One is simply that society has changed and people want to get where they are going as soon as possible.

Another area of consensus: Today’s cars and trucks go faster, and the roads are in better shape and allow higher speeds. “You can only go so fast on a dirt road,” Schwartz said.

Police are using special speed details as well as routine patrols to catch speeders.

Maine State Police now have two aircraft, and at least one is usually on a speed detail every day.

Fleming said that when he was a patrol trooper he often worked as spotter in the aircraft, clocking cars and radioing speed and vehicle descriptions to troopers on the ground who then ticketed the violators.

“Speeds are way up from the days I worked the aircraft,” he said. “I am just amazed at the reports I get on how fast people are going. I have had troopers in marked cruisers tell me they have had people blow right by them and look surprised when they are pulled over.”

In addition to the aircraft details, police at all levels are using radar and laser devices to measure speeds. One trooper was challenged by a speeder because the driver’s radar detector had not gone off and the trooper explained how the laser “gun” used a light beam to measure speed instead of a radar pulse.

One prevention technique that works is not used as much as in the past: police parked next to a road or in the interstate median showing drivers that they are “around” and that speeding might not be a good idea.

“But we have fewer troopers than we had 20 years ago, and that does not happen as often,” Fleming said.

Another tool that is used occasionally is to park an empty cruiser in a visible spot. Police say that works for a while, but if the cruiser is not moved frequently, drivers quickly catch on.

And most police agencies do not have spare police cars.

“I think we are all doing what we can to catch speeders,” Madore said, “but we know it’s not enough.”