Michigan drivers beware: law enforcement is after you.
According to the Michigan Office of Traffic Safety Planning, Michigan State Police will be cracking down on speeders across the state for the next three months in an effort to reduce crashes, deaths and injuries.
According to a press release issued on Thursday, the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has increased. Michigan State Police agencies will now be working overtime, conducting speed enforcement from December 1st to February 28th.
In 2021, according to the agency, 237 people died in speed-related crashes on Michigan roads — an 18.5% increase from 2000, when 200 people died.
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Kathy Bauer, director of the Michigan Office of Traffic Safety Planning, said in a news release that the goal of the increased enforcement is to change these risky driving behaviors and save lives.
“Speeding continues to be a critical problem in Michigan, leading to many unnecessary crashes, serious injuries and fatalities on our roadways,” Bauer said. “With the onset of winter comes snow, slush and slippery roads that make speeding even more dangerous and accidents more likely.”
In Michigan, the number of traffic accidents was 245,432 in 2020. By 2021, this number has increased to 282,640, a 15% increase. Michigan also saw an increase in traffic deaths in 2021, with 1,131 deaths and 1,083 in 2020.
The release also features 2021 Michigan driver speed data from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute:
- Speeding was the cause of accidents in 13.3% of drivers without seat belts.
- 10.2% of drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 involved in a crash were speeding, which is higher than the overall speeding rate of 5.2% in 2021.
- In 2021, there were 24,555 speed-related crashes, a 10.3% increase. In 2020, there were 22,260 accidents.
And local roads are more dangerous than highways, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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In 2020, 87% of fatal speeding crashes occurred on non-interstate highways. Insurance industry research shows that approximately 112,000 speeding tickets are issued each day, or 41 million per year, according to a news release.