Seven thousand drivers were caught going more than 31 mph above the speed limit on state highways last year, and they paid dearly in both fines and points against their driver's licenses.

Several people caught speeding recently in Indiana County will be on that ignominious list and they've gotten an extra penalty: State police have released their names to the media, a sort of Scarlet S for the lead-foot crowd.

That list, released by a state police lieutenant who wants to shame people into slowing down and possibly saving lives, is coming only out of the Indiana state police barracks.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation refuses to release the names or reveal the speed of drivers on its 31-mph-over-the-limit list, saying driving records are confidential.

No such issue exists for Lt. Brad Shields.

"My goal was to embarrass some people, shame some people and scare some people," Shields said.

He wants to reduce accidents, especially those resulting in injuries or death, and decreasing the number of speeders on the road is one way to do that.

The commander of the state police in Indiana County used a new computer system to pinpoint recent traffic accidents. Using that data, he asked his troopers to target speeding drivers on three state highways, Routes 22, 119 and 422.

He was surprised by the end of September to review citations for 21 people who had been clocked at 90 mph or greater. He took their information and compiled a list of Stand-Out Speeders, and released it to the media. Some newspapers and news stations publicized the names last week.

The No. 1 spot on Shields' list went to John C. Slater, 20, of Bethel Park.

Slater had been at Indiana University of Pennsylvania one weekend visiting a friend when he got lost on a Sunday afternoon heading back to Pittsburgh. He found himself a half-hour out of the way.

"I was so infuriated," Slater said. "There was nobody else on the road. I wasn't even paying attention."

Driving his new Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS he'd had for a week, Slater hit 117 mph when he zoomed past a state trooper on Route 422.

"After I saw [the police car] sitting there, I just nailed the brakes and pulled over and waited for her," said Slater, who's covered under his parents' insurance.

He was fined $236, will probably receive five points on his driving record, and will have a departmental hearing with PennDOT.

"Obviously, it's never going to happen again," Slater said.

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