Speed Crackdown Leads To Thousands Of Tickets And Warnings

(source: MSP)

To help combat an alarming rise in speeding and fatal crashes on Michigan roadways, dozens of law enforcement agencies across the state recently issued more than 2,900 speeding citations and more than 2,300 warnings as part of a regional traffic safety initiative.

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Region 5 Office partnered with five other states, including Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin as part of the “Great Lakes, High Stakes” campaign. From June 19 to 27, more than 50 municipal, county and Michigan State Police law enforcement agencies focused on stopping speeding drivers.

Preliminary numbers show that in addition to the speeding citations and speed-violation warnings, there were also 314 seat belt violation citations issued. 134 drivers were arrested for drunk or drugged driving.

While Michigan has seen a 22 percent reduction in traffic crashes, there has been a spike in fatalities. Crash data from the MSP Criminal Justice Information Center indicates 1,083 people died from crashes on Michigan roads in 2020, a 10 percent increase over 2019. In 2020, there were 200 speed-related fatalities on Michigan roadways compared to 185 in 2019.