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Ask a Trooper by Troy Christianson

Summer in Minnesota brings sunshine and excitement with campgrounds and cabins opening and families heading out on vacation. All of the campers, trailers and extra vehicle traffic makes Memorial Day to Labor Day a deadly time for traffic fatalities each year on Minnesota roads. Unfortunately this timeframe is also dangerous for your young drivers as college and high school end and they’re driving more often during the summer. That’s why the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety is reminding all Minnesotans to drive safely.

As the weather heats up, so do speeds. Extra enforcement to slow down speeding motorists will take place July 1 through July 31. Through May 22 of this year, there were 34 fatalities linked to unsafe speeds. 

Alcohol-related crashes not only take lives, they change them forever. Alcohol-related crashes contributed to 17 fatalities through May 22. The extra impaired enforcement campaign runs Aug. 19 through Sept. 5.  

The Minnesota State Patrol will continue Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) patrols through the summer to focus on speed and criminal activity.

As of May 24, Minnesota is already at 124 traffic fatalities for 2022, compared to 149 in 2021. The fatality report for 2022 so far: 11 pedestrians, nine motorcyclists, one ATV rider and 103 vehicle crashes. 

You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention and always plan ahead for a sober ride. Help us drive Minnesota toward zero deaths.

If you have any questions concerning traffic-related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State Patrol, at 2900 48th St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901-5848; or reach him at Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us. 

Troy Christianson is a sergeant with the Minnesota State Patrol.