Minnesota State Patrol Cracks Down on Speeding with New Rural Focus

(KNSI) — The Minnesota State Patrol is launching a new initiative to target speeding on rural roads throughout the spring and summer.

Each State Patrol district will identify and patrol problematic roadways to both deter speeding and educate drivers on the dangers of driving at higher speeds, including the likelihood of serious or fatal crashes. Colonel Christina Bogojevic, chief of the State Patrol, says it’s about saving lives: “Losing a loved one because of a preventable crash is heartbreaking. This initiative is about stopping dangerous behaviors before tragedies occur.”

The Rural Speed Reduction Project replaces the Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) enforcement, which the State Patrol started in 2022 to target speeding on Minnesota freeways. The new project allows each district to formulate its own plan for when and what roads to monitor.

It comes as fatal crashes are up nearly 40% compared to last year. From January 1st through May 9th, there have been 116 people killed in crashes. At this time last year, it was 84. The state patrol says of those, 31 of them were speed related, compared to 26 last year.

It also goes hand in hand with Project 20(24), which returns this summer. It focuses on high-intensity enforcement weekends targeting speeding, distracted and impaired driving, and not wearing a seatbelt.

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