The reporters and the research

This report was led by Pat Stith, 64, who came to The N&O in 1971. Stith has spent most of his career investigating state government and has won numerous state and national awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. He is a member of the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame. For this series, he talked to more than 100 people, including court officials, state and national highway safety officials and legislators.

Database editor David Raynor, who has worked on several award-winning projects with Stith, analyzed 3.4 million speeding cases compiled by the state Administrative Office of the Courts over a five-year period. Raynor also analyzed citations written by the state Highway Patrol over the past decade and data acquired from the state Division of Motor Vehicles. Raynor, 37, has been with the paper for 14 years.

Reporter Mandy Locke interviewed victims of speed-related crashes and chronic speeders, including one who is in prison. She also reviewed court documents in Guilford and Wake counties. Locke, 28, has covered crime and courts at The N&O since 2004. She won the Associated Press Walter Spearman Award for young journalists in 2005.

Other members of the series team:

Photographers: Ethan Hyman, Jason Arthurs, Ted Richardson

Graphics: Judson Drennan

News researcher: Brooke Cain

Designer: Adelaide Nash

Copy editor: Stephen Hoar

Online: Valerie Aguirre, Rob Roberts, Bob Brueckner

Photo editor: Matthew Fortner

Reader participation: Dan Barkin

Editor: Steve Riley