With 200 deaths in six months, Minn. roads most deadly in more than a decade

Minnesota motorists are driving fast, not wearing their seat belts and getting behind the wheel while drunk or distracted.

And more of them are dying on the state's roads — a trend that public safety officials say they fear will continue as traffic volumes continue to rise, including over the Independence Day weekend.

Just halfway through the year, Minnesota has recorded 202 traffic fatalities, the earliest the state has reached the grim tally in more than a decade, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).

As of Wednesday, 54 more people had died on the roads this year than in the first six months of 2020, the DPS said. Last year, the state didn't see its 200th traffic fatality until July 30, the department said.

"It's crazy and scary," said Lisa Kons, who delivers messages about safe driving as Traffic Safety Program Manager for the Minnesota Safety Council. "It keeps me up at night."

Speeding is driving the big increase in traffic deaths, accounting for 40% of fatalities. The 80 speeding deaths, up from 49 at this time last year, are the most in the first six months of a year since 2009, the DPS said.

The State Patrol is trying to clamp down on lead-foot driving. As of June 10, troopers had cited 38,819 motorists for speeding, including 550 tickets written for drivers traveling 100 mph or faster. Law enforcement is conducting a speed enforcement campaign during July to encourage motorists to lay off the gas.

"Stop speeding and help stop the dangerous driving behaviors that are leading to lifelong heartache for so many," said Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol.

Total deaths have also included 46 motorists who were not wearing seat belts, 45 who were killed in crashes in which alcohol was a factor and five in which a driver was distracted. All are behaviors that drivers can and need to control, said Mike Hanson, director of the DPS' Office of Traffic Safety.

"I'm at a loss for words. What is it going to take for drivers to understand the importance of driving smart?" he asked. "You're at much greater risk of planning a funeral now than in the past because of what's happening on our roads."

Over the Independence Day weekend, which officially ends Monday, more than 43.6 million Americans are expected to drive to their destinations, the highest on record for the holiday and 5% more than the previous record set in 2019, according to AAA.

And as many as 580 motorists won't make it home, the National Safety Council predicted in its July 4 holiday travel forecast. In Minnesota, DPS data for the period 2013 to 2018 show an average of five fatalities and 1,500 injuries annually over the holiday weekend.

In 2019, 38% of fatal crashes nationwide on July 4 resulted from drunken driving, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Minnesota, it's the second-worst holiday for drunken driving — after St. Patrick's Day — with troopers arresting an average of 3.5 drivers per hour, the DPS said.

Even after the weekend ends, the busy summer travel season is showing no sign of letting up. It is up to motorists to avert disaster, Kons said.

Motorists need to obey the speed limit, not drive while impaired, stay focused on driving and stop blaming other motorists for engaging in misconduct, she said.

Kons also said traffic safety must become a common topic of conversation at home, with friends and at the workplace, and that there must be value placed on those messages.

"The data is startling and it needs to be talked about," she said. "It will take all of us coming together to change that. We need to get it under control. All of our lives depend on it."

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768