Minneapolis To Slow Down I-94 Enough For North Dakotans?
Your mom won't drive in Minneapolis anymore...even your dad only wants to go during "off -times". Shoot, last year I gave my girl Brenda a real scare on I-94. I get it.
For forever I-94 in Minneapolis has been like an American Autobahn. No speed limit, no problem. Go with the flow and they can't catch us all. You have to be doing 90 just to keep up and if you're like me...you like it that way. In Minnesota, it seems everyone gets out of the way when you need to move over four lanes quickly. Except of course North Dakotans driving in the center lane going the speed limit.
Speeding to be no longer tolerated on Minneapolis I-94?
Well, at least not for 10 days in February when the Minnesota State Patrol brought the HEAT. About darn time.
The 10-day effort, called Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic (HEAT), begins Monday night and will continue each evening from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., the Minnesota State Patrol announced. The focus will especially be Interstate 94 between downtown Minneapolis and Interstate 694.
The State Patrol said people should expect to see more troopers on the highways, in addition to increased use of State Patrol helicopters.
In fairness, helicopters and speed cameras aren't cool. Do you want to get a 90 mph speeding ticket from a helicopter? No, you don't. Because EVERYONE around you is going 90 MPH! I get it, not everyone is comfortable at those speeds. Like my passenger Brenda who went window to window with a merging car that was shooting out of a southside tunnel onto the Interstate and almost into us. Very close. She could explain it better than me.
So why are we all driving so fast through Minneapolis?
I would guess because we can. That is until the Minneapolis State Patrol launched the 10 day HEAT initiative. From a Rochester MN Townsquare Media station, here are some of the results just for Saturday!
A new targeted speeding enforcement effort on highways around downtown Minneapolis, troopers arrested a driver suspected of being involved in multiple shootings.
The Minnesota State Patrol said it was one of several arrests Saturday night in the new 10-day initiative that started Valentine’s Day to crack down on speeding and criminal activity, particularly on Interstate 94 between downtown and I-694.
Do we want officers patrolling I-94 like some sort of dragnet for other crimes? I mean they're there for extreme speed yes? But if they nab a few extra felons that's a bonus. But boy did they grab speeders.
The Star Tribune reports nearly 150 vehicles were stopped on Saturday for speeding, which led to two DWI arrests, 14 citations for driving without a valid license and seven stopped for hands-free violation.
150 vehicles pulled over for speeding in just one day is a heckuva an effort. Maybe they can pull us all over? Who knew? But can they maintain it? Of course not...but for a brief time, law ruled the road on I-94 in Minneapolis. Just like it does all the time in Wisconsin, just a short way down the road.