DATE: July 14, 2023
SUBJECT: Blitz 119: Speeding Enforcement Campaign
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-NR-0714
CONTACT: Major Matt Corn
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Noah Robinson
This summer, The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with other Indiana law enforcement agencies to keep drivers and passengers safe by raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits.
From July 10 to July 31, law enforcement officers in your community will be on high alert for speeding vehicles while participating in the Speeding Slows You Down campaign (Blitz 119), funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). Not only is speeding illegal, it can be deadly. In 2021, speeding killed 252 people in Indiana, accounting for more than one-quarter of all crash fatalities. Tragically, there was a dramatic increase (15%) in speeding-related crash fatalities from 2021-2022.
Preliminary data shows that in 2022, speeding killed 290 people in Indiana, with nearly 300 fatalities projected in 2023. Much like impaired driving, speeding can have deadly consequences for the driver, passengers, and pedestrians. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Even the safest cars with the newest technologies are limited in how much they can help reduce the odds of a crash.
According to data from ICJI, more people crash while speeding on local roads than on highways. In 2022, 77% of all speeding-related traffic crashes on Indiana roads occurred on non-interstate roadways. During Blitz 119, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will be stepping up speeding enforcement on problem roadways in Vanderburgh County.
For more information, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding.