Minnesota's State Patrol is cracking down on speed demons tearing up rural roads, according to a recent announcement. As part of the Rural Speed Reduction Project, troopers will amp up their presence on high-risk rural highways this spring and summer in an effort to throttle back the surge in fatal crashes, which have spiked nearly 40 percent over last year's stats.
With the fatality count on Minnesota's roads hitting a grim 116 by early May, the State Patrol is responding to a siren’s call for action. "Losing a loved one because of a crash that was likely preventable is heartbreaking and unacceptable," Col. Christina Bogojevic, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, told the official Department of Public Safety news hub. She believes this speed crackdown could “make a difference by educating drivers and stopping dangerous behaviors before it results in a life-changing tragedy."
The grim reaper of the road, mostly reaping where rural landscapes beckon with open stretches, is speed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 87 percent of all speed-related traffic deaths in the U.S. occurred on non-interstate roads in 2022. With this in mind, the Minnesota initiative allows districts to tailor plans to their local roads, setting up high visibility patrols both during regular duty and overtime hours.
During the first week of this operation, the patrol stopped 1,511 motorists, with a substantial 1,246 nabbed specifically for testing their speedometers' upper limits. Data from crashes, traffic volumes, and past speeding citations helped target the most treacherous spans of asphalt. And in an encore performance, Project 20(24), a nod to the year, will see troopers running high-intensity patrols focusing on the deadliest of sins behind the wheel, from distraction to impairment. The kickoff casts its net over the Bemidji area during the May fishing opener weekend, according to Minnesota's Department of Public Safety.
But it's not just country roads getting the heat; street racing busts are on the menu, too. Since first firing up the crackdown in 2021, partnership efforts have pumped the brakes on illicit racing scenes. Yet Col. Bogojevic points the finger of responsibility at every driver, urging a collective push for safer roads. "Drivers have to do their part. That means driving the speed limit, putting distractions away, buckling up, and always driving sober," she stated on the State's official public safety news release platform.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety stands committed to fostering security and order, its 2,100 employees enforcing the law, aiding crime victims, and overseeing programs spanning traffic to fire safety. And undergirding it all are nearly 600 Minnesota State Patrol troops, ensuring that Minnesota's roads remain bastions of safe passage.
