Speeding? Extra Patrols Are Now Watching In Minnesota This Memorial Day

While a record number of travelers are expected to hit the roads this holiday weekend,  there are also extra patrols in Minnesota waiting to hand you a ticket if you're speeding.

If you and the family are heading out of town this Memorial weekend, you won't be alone. Travel site AAA projects a record-breaking 45.1 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over Memorial Day weekend this year, surpassing the previous high set in 2005.

Here in our neck of the woods in AAA's West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and the Dakotas, approximately 3.7 million residents are expected to travel during some time over the Memorial weekend.

ALSO INTERESTING: What A Speeding Ticket Will Now Cost You in Minnesota

And when you're traveling, it's pretty easy to go faster than the speed limit, right? Speeding, though, can cause some tragic results, as well. Which is why you're now more likely to get a ticket if police in the Bold North catch you speeding on an interstate, state highway or street near your house.

It's all because of an extra speed enforcement campaign the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MNDPS) just launched on May 1st. This extra enforcement involves over 300 law enforcement agencies across the state and means that officers, deputies, and troopers are all now on the lookout for those drivers who are putting the pedal to the metal in Minnesota.

The MNDPS notes that there's a good reason why they started this campaign, which is set to run through September 2nd, 2025. It's because speed-related fatal crashes have been on the increase in Minnesota. Check out these sobering numbers:

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Minnesota speeding-related deaths by year 

• 2024: 137
• 2023: 113
• 2022: 130
• 2021: 171
• 2020: 122

MNDPS says there have already been 10 speed-related crashes so far this year, and notes that speed-related crashes can happen on any road at any time. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 87 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on non-interstate roadways in 2022.

SEE ALSO: Record Number of Minnesotans to Travel This Holiday Weekend-- Here Are the Busiest Times

This extra enforcement coincides with what MNDPS calls the '100 Deadliest Days' on Minnesota roads: the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day. MN DPS says that there were 151 fatalities during those two holidays last year, including 44 speed-related fatal crashes.

There is some good news, however, when you go to fill up that gas tank here in the Bold North. AAA Minnesota says the statewide average for a price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.04 a gallon. That's nearly 30 cents cheaper than a year ago when the average price was $3.32 a gallon!

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