Q: Is there a certain number of citations that each trooper has to issue each month?
A: No, traffic citation quotas are prohibited in Minnesota for any law enforcement agency. State law reads: “A law enforcement agency may not order, mandate, require, or suggest to a peace officer a quota for the issuance of traffic citations, including administrative citations, on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.”
Troopers are active, however, in enforcing all traffic and equipment laws to reduce crashes and promote traffic safety. Troopers also respond to a variety of calls such as crashes, stalled vehicles, driving complaints, medical calls, traffic control and other agencies’ requests for assistance.
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The Minnesota State Patrol’s mission statement states: Protect and serve all people in the state through assistance, education, and enforcement; provide support to allied agencies; and provide for the safe, efficient movement of traffic on Minnesota’s roadways.
All traffic laws have one goal in common - to prevent potential crashes. We educate the motoring public through enforcement in an effort to reduce all crashes.
Law enforcement also participates in extra enforcement waves and campaigns where officers work extra shifts to focus on certain violations. The top contributing factors in serious injury and fatal crashes are distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving and occupants not wearing seatbelts. For example, we just finished a campaign on distracted driving where officers, deputies and troopers cited 1,576 motorists for texting and driving during the campaign, compared with 1,017 cited during last year’s campaign.
We take traffic enforcement very seriously and can make a difference in keeping everyone safe while traveling.
Send your questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota to trooper@duluthnews.com or Sgt. Neil Dickenson – Minnesota State Patrol at 1131 Mesaba Ave., Duluth, MN 55811 . You can follow him on Twitter @MSPPIO_NE or reach him at neil.dickenson@state.mn.us .
