Preliminary reports show that 113 motorists died on Minnesota roads in 2018, the highest amount of fatalities in a decade. As a result, the Minnesota State Patrol has taken action and teamed up with 300 other agencies in a 30-day speed campaign to put the brakes on speed-related fatalities.

Memorial Day through Labor Day is the 100 deadliest days for speed-related fatalities in Minnesota. Therefore, the State Patrol will be letting motorists know how they can prevent speed-related fatalities, and officers, deputies, and troopers will be working overtime July 18-21.

“When you hear about these different enforcement campaigns, our goal is not about the number of tickets we write or the arrests we make, it’s about trying to prevent that very thing, by getting this information and education out there,” said Minnesota State Patrol Sargent Jesse Grabow.

Grabow says that when pinpointing how these speed-related fatalities occur there seems to be a redundancy of certain factors: “When we look at the main factors, why these crashes are happening, we kind of call it the fatal four, and that’s speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, and just lack of seat belt use” said Grabow.

The Minnesota State Patrol encourages motorists to follow a few of those simple driving tips to prevent speed-related fatalities this summer.

By — Chaz Mootz