Drivers should keep an eye on the speedometer this month and perhaps ease up on that gas pedal, as police agencies across Michigan will be watching for those exceeding the speed limit.

To encourage safer travel this summer, the Michigan State Police, along with local and county police agencies, will carry out focused speed-enforcement patrols throughout July.

Speeding is a leading and persistent contributor to deadly traffic crashes, MSP states in a news release. Drivers who choose to exceed safe speeds dramatically raise the risk of catastrophic collisions, endangering passengers, other motorists and all roadway users.

In 2024, Michigan recorded 22,260 speed-involved crashes, a 4.2% increase compared with the 21,357 crashes in 2023, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. However, while speed-involved crashes increased, the number of speed-related fatalities fell from 210 in 2023 to 177 in 2024, a decrease of 15.7%.

Single motor vehicle crashes were the most common crash type associated with speed-involved crashes in 2024 at 71%, or 15,809.

“Speeding is one of the most preventable causes of deadly crashes,” Alicia Sledge, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, or OHSP, said in the news release. “Exceeding the speed limit reduces reaction time, increases impact forces and raises the risk to all road users. Slowing down is one of the simplest and most effective ways to save lives.”

Summer travel brings higher speeds and a higher risk as traffic volumes increase with families, young drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists taking to the roads, according to the MSP.

Sledge, who chairs the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission, said the launch of the SAFER by 2030 initiative in December already is having an effect on traffic safety in Michigan. The statewide effort brings together numerous agencies and traffic safety partners around a shared goal: reducing roadway fatalities by 30% in Michigan by the year 2030.

“As part of the initiative, July’s speed-enforcement campaign reflects our commitment to saving lives on our roads through three key focus areas — Awareness, Engagement and Enforcement,” Sledge said in the news release. “This coordinated enforcement effort is one way we’re putting the initiative into action. We urge drivers to obey speed limits, be extra cautious during this busy time and use patience behind the wheel.”

The July speed-enforcement campaign is supported with federal traffic safety funds provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and administered by the OHSP.

For more information about speeding and the July speed enforcement, go to the OHSP’s speed web page at https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/ohsp/safety-programs/speeding?sc_site=msp.

For more on SAFER by 2030, go to https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/ohsp/gtsac/safer-by-2030.