![Commuters passed by ongoing road construction on I-35W during the evening rush hour Friday. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com Commuters navigated Portland Avenue southbound during the evening rush hour Friday, June 15, 2018 in Minneapolis. The closed ramps on 35W are causing a lot more traffic to be routed through near south Minneapolis. Portland Avenue southbound is a parking lot at afternoon rush hour and impatient drivers dart down side streets to escape to their home](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/VTJ46SHQKBR72GRR3WBZJCNQ5U.jpg?&w=1080)
Lead-foot drivers, lay off the gas pedal. Law enforcement will be looking for you. A statewide speeding crackdown begins Tuesday and continues through July 21.
The four-week enforcement campaign comes as crash deaths attributed to speeding surged above 100 for the first time in more than a decade. There were 113 speed-related fatalities on state roads in 2018. That was the most since 2008 when 125 people died in crashes in which speed was a contributing factor, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, preliminary numbers show 30 people died in speed-related crashes in 2018.
"There is no summer vacation when it comes to safe driving behaviors behind the wheel," said Mike Hanson, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. "Going the speed limit and slowing down in construction zones are critical to us all coming home to our loved ones at the end of the day."
Last year, speeding was a contributing factor in nearly one out of four fatal crashes, state data shows.
A speeding ticket will typically cost a driver $110, but fines double for drivers caught going more than 20 mph over the speed limit. Motorists tagged for going more than 100 mph can lose their licenses for six months, according to state statutes.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
