Extra speed enforcement on Minnesota roads expected throughout July

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) announced that extra law enforcement will be on Minnesota roads throughout July in an effort to curb speeding.

Officers, deputies and troopers will be looking for speeders endangering their own lives and the lives of others. The OTS coordinates the campaign with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The campaign includes extra patrols and advertising in support of the Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program.

“The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day have a deadly reputation on Minnesota roads,” said OTS Director Mike Hanson. “During the first 25 days of the current 100 days, preliminary figures show 46 people have lost their lives in crashes. That’s the highest in that timespan in the last 10 years. As Minnesotans hit the road for Fourth of July, they can help change this deadly trajectory with smart choices such as slowing down.”

In 2022, the OTS said preliminary numbers show 129 motorists died in speed-related crashes in Minnesota.

During the 100 deadliest days in the past five years (2018-2022), preliminary numbers show that 231 people lost their lives in speed-related crashes.

Speed contributed to an average of 85 deaths per year from 2013-2017, but an average of 122 deaths per year from 2018-2022, said the OTS.

Since the start of the year through June 25, preliminary numbers show there have been 47 speed-related traffic fatalities in the state, down from 53 during the same time span in 2022, and 80 in 2021.