Michigan State Police are cracking down on speeding drivers throughout the month of July.
MSP Lieutenant DuWayne Robinson out of Paw Paw tells us state statistics show a 20% decrease in speed-involved crashes in 2023 from 2022, an encouraging thing to hear. However, he says there are still too many lead-footed drivers out there.
“While the crashes that resulted from speed have gone down, according to the data, that just means that our messages of following the speed limit, being a safe driver, are reaching some of our motorists in the state, but not all of them,” Robinson said.
Michigan State Police will use traffic safety funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct extra patrols all month.
Robinson says with a major reconstruction project underway on I-94 in Berrien County right now, they’ll keep an eye on drivers in construction zones.
“People are still impatient and they don’t want to take heed to the fact that they have men and women out there risking their lives, fixing our roadways so that we can have a better traveling experience. They’re passing one another at higher speeds than what’s posted for their safety and the safety of the workers.”
Robinson says he’s seen drivers go too fast on all kinds of roads, not just highways. State police are hoping to help address the problem with their crackdown.
Police say while may drivers fixate on the cost of a ticket, the real concern is the number of lives put in danger and the countless crashes that could be prevented if everyone would just slow down.
