MN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY – OFFICE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY: TEXTING CITATIONS INCREASED IN 2017

SOURCE: MN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY - TRAFFIC SAFETY

Risky Behaviors

• Distracted driving, speeding, lack of seat belt use and impaired driving continue to play a major role in deaths and serious injuries on Minnesota roads.
• While data from 2012 - 2017 shows fewer citations for speeding and seat belt use, more drivers are being cited for texting behind the wheel, which risks their lives and anyone who shares the road with them.

Distracted Driving is Dangerous Driving

• Drivers continue to text and access the internet at while behind the wheel.
• Texting citations climbed nearly 23 percent from 2016 to 2017.
• Distracted driving contributes to one in four crashes in Minnesota.
• Distracted driving contributes to an average of 59 deaths and 223 serious injuries a year (2012 – 2016).

Speeding

• Speeding citations have decreased by more than 5,000 since 2012.
• Speeding contributes to an average of 82 deaths and 249 serious injuries a year (2012 – 2016).
• Speed is a leading contributing factor in Minnesota summer traffic fatalities.

During the 100 deadliest days (Memorial Day – Labor Day) in the past five years (2012-2016), preliminary numbers show that 111 people lost their lives in speed-related crashes.

Seat Belts Save Lives

• Seat belt citations have decreased by nearly 53 percent from 2012 to 2017.
• The 2017 Minnesota Seat Belt Survey shows 92 percent compliance for front seat occupants.
• Not buckling up contributes to an average of 97 deaths and 209 serious injuries a year (2012 – 2016).

Impaired Driving

• Impaired driving contributes to one in four deaths on Minnesota roads.
• There are about 25,000 DWI incidents on average each year (2013-2017).
• In the last five years (2012 – 2016), there were432 drunk driving-related traffic deaths in Minnesota, with 73(preliminary) people killed in 2016 alone.

Resources

• Shattered Dreams: Distracted Driving Changes Lives
• SPEAK UP: A Teen's Last Text
• Unbelted Heartbreak: A Grieving Mother's Plea to Always Buckle Up
• DPS Highlights: Demonstration Shows Strength of Seat Belts
• DPS Highlights: Brake the Habit, Speeding Doesn't Pay
• Locked Up: A DWI Booking