Of the 57 motorists stopped for speeding Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Highway 62 between I-35W & I-494, one motorist stood out above the rest because they were clocked going 91 MPH according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
As part of their Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) effort, the Minnesota State Patrol has been placing extra patrols along specific Twin Cities freeways on a daily basis. These patrols are on the lookout for speeding motorists, criminal activity, and the state patrol's air support also helps track motorists who attempt to flee from a traffic stop.
"We are letting people know where we are going to work and that's the thing that's very frustrating," said Lt. Gordon Shank with the Minnesota State Patrol. "That's what's frustrating. We're telling people, 'Hey, we're gonna work this area more than maybe they've seen in the past or we're going to have extra troopers in this area,' and we're continuing to see people that are speeding."
Lt. Shank says the driver who was stopped going 91 MPH is another unfortunate example of the kind of speeds drivers are choosing to drive at, even if it means they're putting themselves or others at risk of dying.
"When you put that kind of speed into perspective, it's a lot less time to stop if there's something in the road or if you have to make an evasive move if traffic slows down," he said. "When you put those factors together, this is what we see in these serious and fatal crashes in the last year."
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Minnesota saw 497 traffic fatalities in 2021, the most since 2007.
"The open freeway cause more people to think it was an open road or a racetrack to drive on," Lt. Shank said. "For us, it about getting drivers back to driving in a safer manner."
The state patrol is urging the public to assist in reporting dangerous motorists, even if that includes dialing 9-1-1 when it's safe to do so.
"People always wondering if they should dial 9-1-1 to report dangerous driving, but we absolutely encourage everyone to report dangerous drivers when they see them," Lt. Shank said. "Our state patrol flight is part of these HEAT patrols and if they can locate the vehicle, they can monitor the travel, direction, and type of driver behavior they're observing so a trooper can catch up to that vehicle. There's multiple options so we always rely on people. It's a team effort."
Lt. Shank said he worked an extra DWI patrol Thursday night and a motorist called 9-1-1 to report a possible drunk driver. Troopers were able to locate the vehicle and arrest the driver for suspicion of DWI.
"We just want these roads to be safe for everybody."
HEAT patrols will continue through August in the Twin Cities and other areas of Minnesota.