Multi-state speeding enforcement campaign planned for this week

July 24, 2023

•

Truckers in 11 states will want to keep a close eye on their speedometers this week, with a multi-state speed enforcement campaign planned for Wednesday.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Safety announced that law enforcement officers would be joining 10 other states for a speed awareness campaign on July 26. On that day, the department says officers will “be on heightened alert for speeding vehicles” with a goal of “raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits.”

In addition to Iowa, law enforcement agencies in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin will be joining the one-day speeding crackdown.

“Much like impaired driving, speeding is a selfish choice with deadly consequences for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians,” the department said in a statement. “Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Even the safest cars with the newest technologies are limited in how much they can help reduce the odds of a crash.

According to the department, Iowa experienced a 25% increase in speeding-related fatalities from 2020-2021. In 2021, speeding-related fatalities accounted for nearly a quarter of all traffic deaths in the state.

So far this year, Iowa’s daily traffic fatality count is over 20% higher than the 5-year average, something the state calls an “alarming trend.”

“We are asking drivers to please slow down,” Brett Tjepkes, chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, said in a statement. “Our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert — the posted speed limit is the law. No excuses… If drivers choose to exceed the posted limit, they can expect a citation.”

According to the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding-involved crashes are consistently one of the leading causes of death on U.S. roadways. In fact, the agency says speeding was listed as a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in 2021 – with 12,330 fatalities resulting from speeding-involved crashes. LL