Nearly 50,000 drivers earned speeding tickets during the summer speeding crackdown, which ran from May 1 through September 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
We’ve talked about the 100 deadliest days on the road on the blog in the past, which encompasses the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but the summer speeding crackdown began on May 1 and ran for four months. Over that time, Minnesota police handed out 46,624 speeding tickets. Police also arrested 1,357 individuals for impaired driving and issued 178 “Move Over” citations during that period.
“Drivers often don’t take time to realize how one lapse in judgement can have horrific consequences,” said Mike Hanson, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “That’s what these enforcement and awareness campaigns are all about. We’re preventing bad decisions and outright reckless behaviors from ending lives.”
High Speeds, High Citations
As you can imagine, police clocked drivers going at some incredibly unsafe speeds during the enforcement period. Here’s a look at some of the top speeds that were witnessed by different police departments:
In the Twin Cities metro area:
1. 145 mph: Mounds View Police Department
>2. 140 mph: Minnesota State Patrol, Twin Cities west metro district
3. 139 mph: St. Anthony Police Department
4. 122 mph: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office
5. 113 mph: Inver Grove Heights Police Department
In the greater Minnesota area:
1. 140 mph: Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office
2. 134 mph: Minnesota State Patrol, Mankato district
3. 126 mph: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
4. 126 mph: Minnesota State Patrol, Marshall district
5. 122 mph: Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office
Police also tracked the highest blood alcohol concentrations during the summer crackdown.
In the Twin Cities metro area:
1. Roseville Police Department: 0.36
2. North Branch Police Department: 0.347
3. Wayzata Police Department: 0.33
4. Mounds View Police Department: 0.32
5. White Bear Lake Police Department: 0.31
In the greater Minnesota area:
1. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department: 0.431
2. Willmar Police Department: 0.39
3. Moorhead Police Department: 0.33
4. Lac qui Parle Sheriff’s Office: 0.32
5. Minnesota State Patrol Rochester district: 0.31
Despite the numbers, traffic fatalities have dropped significantly across Minnesota so far in 2025. As of September 24, there had been 268 traffic fatalities on Minnesota roads in 2025, compared to 332 at the same point in 2024.
Although the official summer crackdown period has ended, don’t assume that police are going to back off of their quest to keep Minnesotans safe on the road. Mind your speed and don’t get behind the wheel after using drugs or alcohol, and you’ll stand a good chance to avoid a run-in with the law. If you or someone you know makes a mistake and ends up cited or arrested for a driving-related issue, make sure you connect with an experienced traffic lawyer. In the greater Twin Cities area, we hope you’ll connect with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm. Give our team a call today at (952) 224-2277.
