Slow down! More officers will be looking for speeders this week

Beginning Wednesday, there will be more law enforcement officers on the roads statewide watching for speeders.

More than 9,000 lives are lost across America in speeding-related traffic crashes every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program recently listed the top five counties with the highest speed-related deaths. On the list are Wake, Cumberland, Mecklenburg, Guilford and Robeson counties.

“Speeding repeatedly tops the list of the central causes of preventable roadway deaths, especially among young adults,” said Mark Ezzell, NCGHSP Director.

The increased patrols are part of the program's "Speed A Little. Lose A Lot" initiative, which runs through Sunday, April 4. During the five-day stretch, expect to see more law enforcement officers on roads.

State education leaders said, when it comes to speed-related deaths, college students and young adults in their 20s are most at risk.

Although there were fewer drivers on the road in 2020, there were still 416 speed-related deaths and 18,332 speed-related crashes in North Carolina.

"Congestion -- which sometimes drives us all nuts -- does sort of naturally reduce our speed, and we didn't see that level of congestion in 2020, so that was a factor," said Ezzell. "So now as we're getting into the Easter holiday and spring, we need to keep in mind that we've still got to slow down."

Ninety-one percent of speed-related fatalities occur on non-interstate roads, officials say.

Additionally, between midnight and 3 a.m., 68 percent of speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking.