Pump the brakes: NC starts weeklong campaign targeting speeders

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- If you don't normally check your speed while driving or set the cruise control over the speed limit, you might want to pump the brakes and slow down. That's because all this week law enforcement agencies across North Carolina are cracking down on speeders.

It's all part of the nationwide campaign "Speeding Wrecks Lives," the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), said in a news release. Officers statewide will be patrolling roads to ensure drivers are obeying speed limits. So if you're known to have a "lead foot," you'll want to be extra attentive to your speed in the coming days.

According to NCDOT, speeding is a major cause of injuries and deaths on roadways. It said drivers who are male and younger than 39 account for nearly half of all speeding-related crashes. The state said that in 2021, 424 people died in speeding-related crashes.

Speed is also cited as a factor in nearly a quarter of all fatal crashes for the same year, NCDOT said in the release.

"Speeding-related crashes are at all-time high levels across the country, including North Carolina, and one proven way to prevent speeding is an increased law enforcement presence on the roads," said Mark Ezzell, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program. "Campaigns like these are key pieces to decreasing crashes, even as we work on more long-term solutions such as safe road design, safer cars and quality driver education."