EP police join statewide effort to curb speeding in July

The Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) announced its participation in a statewide campaign, led by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety, in a blog post titled “Watch Your Speed!” on Wednesday. The campaign aims to crackdown on speeders throughout July.

According to preliminary reports from the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety, speed-related traffic crashes claimed the lives of 129 people across the state last year.

In 2022, Eden Prairie officers issued 2,009 citations for speeding. So far, in 2023, EPPD officers have issued 887 speed citations.

The EPPD highlights the following consequences of speeding:

• Greater potential for loss of vehicle control.
• Increased stopping distance. At 30 mph, the stopping distance is about 110 feet, while at 60 mph, it exceeds 300 feet.
• Reduced time for driver response in crash avoidance.
• Higher crash severity leads to more severe injuries and fatalities. A crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph or greater is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality compared to a crash on a road with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph.

The EPPD reports that the cost of a speeding violation varies by county. Typically, it exceeds $110 with court fees for traveling 10 mph over the limit. Fines double for those speeding 20 mph over the limit, and drivers can face a six-month license suspension for traveling at 100 mph or more.