20K motorists in Minnesota cited for speeding during July enforcement campaign

Law enforcement across Minnesota wrote more than 20,000 speeding tickets during July's enforcement campaign — by far the most handed out during a single effort to crack down on fast driving since the onset of the pandemic.

And drivers were not just going the proverbial 5 to 10 mph over the limit, authorities say. Nearly a third of agencies that participated in the monthlong campaign clocked drivers going well over 100 mph, including Minnesota Vikings No. 1 draft pick Jordan Addison, who was stopped by a state trooper for going 140 mph on I-94 in St. Paul.

"The fact that the month generated that kind of activity emphasizes the challenge we have on Minnesota roads," said Mike Hanson, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety. "There is no excuse for that driving conduct. We are paying a horrific price for that."

While fatalities attributed to speeding are down slightly this year — 67 as of Thursday — that is well above numbers for the same time period between 2017 and 2019 before the pandemic, according to Department of Public Safety (DPS) data.

Authorities saw a big increase in speeding on freeways and highways as lanes emptied out with the onset of COVID in 2020. Since then, speeding "has bled over to city streets, county roads and township roads," Hanson said. And the results have been violent.

Last month Quintin Leon Hudson, 20, was under the influence and driving as fast as 90 mph through a neighborhood while fleeing police when he broadsided a Crystal family's minivan in Robbinsdale. The wreck at 36th and Orchard avenues N. killed Emily Gerding, 34, and seriously injured her husband, John.

In June, Derrick John Thompson, 27, was charged with criminal vehicular homicide after he ran a red light going 95 mph and struck a vehicle in an intersection near I-35W and Lake Street E. in Minneapolis. Five women inside the vehicle that was struck died.

"Nowhere is it legal to drive near those kinds of speeds outside of a NASCAR track," Hanson said. "We see those things continue to happen. This is a deliberate act. Unacceptable is not a strong enough word."

One driver in southern Minnesota was caught speeding twice on the same day. A trooper near Mankato cited the driver for going 81 mph in a 65 mph zone. An hour later, a different trooper near Marshall ticketed the same driver for going 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, DPS said.

In the metro, St. Paul police wrote the highest number of citations at 770, followed by Eden Prairie with 367, Edina with 355 and the Carver County Sheriff's Office with 258.

Outstate, the most speeders cited were by Elk River police at 430, Rochester police with 254 and the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office with 149.

Eden Prairie police averaged more than 10 tickets a day. The most egregious offense happened July 20 when an officer stopped a motorist going 152 mph on Hwy. 212 while trying to get away. The driver was arrested and had to forfeit their vehicle.

A majority of the stops in the west metro suburb were for drivers going more than 10 mph over the speed limit, said Capt. Chris Wood.

"Speeding is still a problem," he said. And why? "They give any reason under the sun."

The cost of a speeding ticket varies by county, but typically costs a driver more than $110 with court fees for traveling 10 mph over the limit. Fines double for those caught going 20 mph over the limit, and drivers can lose their license for six months for going 100 mph or more, according to DPS.

The Office of Traffic Safety is partnering with the state's Health and Transportation departments, along with other traffic safety advocates, on a first-of-its-kind survey to find out why people exceed speed limits and what can be done to stop it.

The department is running focus groups and analyzing data collected during its Speed Action Survey earlier this year. The results could be used in strategies to tackle the problem, Hanson said.

"We can't enforce our way out of this," Hanson said. "We will continue to do outreach efforts and convince drivers to make safe decisions behind the wheel."