According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, speeding was a contributing factor in about 33 percent of auto accidents that occurred in 2011 in North Carolina. Those crashes resulted in 428 fatalities and 39,416 injuries. In an attempt to change these statistics, the safety initiative “No Need 2 Speed” was held April 2-8. State and local law enforcement focused on reducing speed-related auto accidents by increasing patrols.
Program director Becky Wallace reported that police recorded more than 39,000 traffic and criminal citations because of the stepped-up patrols during the Easter Week. Of the 39,150 citations given, 13,485 of them were for speed-related charges. Wake County led the state with more than 1,200 speeding citations given and was followed by Mecklenburg, Guilford, Onslow, and Forsyth counties.
During a similar campaign last year, police cited roughly 12,500 drivers for speeding.
