(WWJ) The message from police is simple: Slow down.
In a recent statewide crackdown on speeders, Michigan State Police and local police wrote 2,941 speeding citations and issued 2,353 warnings to Michigan drivers in an eight-day period.
Hazel Park Police stopped a driver who was going 100 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit is 40. Another driver in the Detroit suburb was stopped for going more than 40 miles per hour over the speed limit.
On the west side of the state, the MSP Grand Rapids Post stopped nine drivers all going 70 mph or faster in a 55 mph zone
On top of the speeders, police arrested 109 drivers for drunken driving (OWI), while 25 drivers were arrested for operating under the influence of drugs (OUID). There were also 314 seat belt violation citations issued during the crackdown.
According to the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), the special enforcement effort was in response to an "alarming rise" in speeding and fatal crashes on Michigan roadways.
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OHSP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Region 5 Office partnered with five other states — Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin — as part of the “Great Lakes, High Stakes” campaign from June 19 to June 27.
"This effort is a wake-up call about the significance of traffic safety,” said Michael Prince, director of the OHSP. “Speed kills. This campaign has been a timely reminder about the need to educate motorists about the importance of obeying the speed limit and the value of enforcing the laws already on the books.”
While Michigan has saw a 22% reduction in traffic crashes from 2019 to 2020, there was a spike in fatalities. Crash data from the MSP Criminal Justice Information Center shows 1,083 people died from crashes on Michigan roads in 2020, a 10% increase over 2019, when 985 deaths were reported. In 2020, there were 200 speed-related fatalities on Michigan roadways compared to 185 in 2019, an 8% increase.