Amid reports of an increase in dangerous driving behaviors ranging from street racing to shooting fireworks at pedestrians from moving vehicles, the Minnesota State Patrol recently increased their presence on a number of roads and highways across the Twin Cities.
Street Racing Citations
Over the weekend, the Minnesota State Patrol assigned 20 additional troopers and air patrol resources to a number of different designated areas across the Twin Cities to look for dangerous driving maneuvers, with a special emphasis on street racing. On Saturday night alone, 250 traffic stops were made in Minneapolis. Of those 250 traffic stops:
- 52 drivers were cited for driving without a valid driver’s license
- There were 20 arrests, 11 of which were for driving while impaired.
- A group of motorcyclists were cited for racing on a freeway, while another four vehicles were cited for racing on Hennepin Avenue.
- In one instance, a police helicopter witnessed a driver throw a firearm during an attempt to flee. The street racer was arrested and the firearm was recovered.
In a statement, Minnesota State Patrol’s Colonel Matt Langer said, “Our goal was to swell resources to combat street racing and other illegal activity over the weekend. The results generated speak for themselves. Troopers from across Minnesota assisted and are thankful for the local law enforcement support they received while working.”
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington was also pleased with the recent crackdown.
“Having looked at the crime trends, DPS, Minnesota State Patrol initiated a conversation with the City of Minneapolis to talk about what could the state do to assist in partnership with Minneapolis,” said Harrington. “We had done this on a very limited scale before on a couple of bad nights where there was a shooting and crashes. We saw that when we assign state patrol in the City of Minneapolis, we got a very positive reaction from the community, and the cops in Minneapolis said that they felt there was backup they could access readily.”
Temporary concrete road barriers have also been installed at certain intersections in areas where there is heavy foot traffic that have seen an increase in illegal street racing activity. The barriers will be up indefinitely across the Mill District along 2nd at 5th Ave S, Portland, 9th Ave S, 10th Ave S, 11th Ave S and Washington Ave S and Park Ave.
Street racing is a dangerous activity that can result in the loss of your driver’s license, huge fines, massive automobile insurance premium increases and even jail time, especially if you cause an accident that involves property damage or injuries. These are hard cases to win, but if you’re facing a reckless driving citation or another speed-related traffic ticket, let the team at Appelman Law Firm help. Set up a free consultation with one of our lawyers today. Give us a call at (952) 224-2277.
