Throughout Michigan, law enforcement officers will be working additional hours this month to crack down on speeding violations.
The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) anticipates distributing approximately $5.8 million in federal funds this year. These funds will be allocated to police departments, government entities, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations statewide to promote safer driving behaviors. The grant supports the overtime pay for these patrol activities.
The frequency of patrols varies from day to day and month to month, so there isn’t a fixed total or a clearly defined percentage increase for July’s enforcement period. The speed enforcement comes after data revealed a 20% drop in crashes involving excessive speed from 2022 to 2023, according to the Michigan State Police.
“Even though speed-related crashes and fatalities are down, there are still too many drivers who put everyone at risk by speeding and driving recklessly,” said Alicia Sledge, director of OHSP in a press release. “We are asking every Michigander to make an effort this summer to slow down.”
In District 2, which covers Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, police reported nearly 109,300 crashes in 2023. Out of these, over 6,100 were attributed to speeding. Statewide, speeding contributed to nearly 19.2% (or 210) of all fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes in 2023.
Michigan logged a total of 21,257 crashes involving high speed last year. Most of these—about 72.2%—involved only one vehicle.
“Some may fixate on the cost of a ticket, but the real concerns are the number of lives put in danger and the countless crashes that could be prevented if drivers chose to slow down,” Sledge said. “While we are encouraged by the progress shown in the data, we hope that this dedicated speed-enforcement effort will help curb the reckless behavior of hurried drivers this summer.”