Statewide distracted‑driving crackdown runs all April
Minnesota law enforcement is launching a monthlong distracted‑driving crackdown from April 1–30, with more than 300 agencies — including metro police, sheriffs and the State Patrol — adding extra patrols specifically to nail drivers who won’t put the phone down. The campaign, led by the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety, comes with fresh numbers: from 2020–2026, distracted driving was tied to 33,183 crashes, 888 serious injuries and 162 deaths statewide, including at least 21 deaths and 159 serious injuries just in 2025. Officials are blunt that this is about writing tickets as well as education, and Twin Cities drivers should expect more stops any time they’re fiddling with a phone or not paying attention, despite the state’s 2019 hands‑free law that many still treat as optional. Shakopee Mayor Matt Lehman, whose daughter‑in‑law Ashley was killed after a 2025 distracted‑driving crash, is fronting the push, arguing families are living with "forever nightmares" while too many motorists act like scrolling is worth someone else’s life. The enforcement window covers every major metro artery — from I‑35, I‑94 and 494/694 down to city arterials — so for Minneapolis–St. Paul residents this isn’t an abstract safety campaign; it’s a guaranteed spike in traffic stops and fines aimed at forcing a behavior change on roads where the stakes are already written in blood.
📌 Key Facts
- From 2020–2026, Minnesota recorded 33,183 distracted‑driving crashes, 888 serious injuries and 162 deaths.
- The Office of Traffic Safety is leading a statewide distracted‑driving education and enforcement campaign from April 1–30 with more than 300 agencies participating.
- In 2025 alone, at least 21 people were killed and 159 seriously injured in distracted‑driving crashes in Minnesota, despite a 2019 hands‑free law.
📊 Relevant Data
In Minnesota, drivers aged 24 or under accounted for 42.1% of crashes where driver distraction by cell phone was documented from 2019-2023, while representing approximately 13.91% of licensed drivers in 2023.
ACTS Yearly Report Draft — Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths
In Minnesota, male drivers accounted for 59% of crashes where driver distraction by cell phone was documented from 2019-2023, while comprising 50.3% of licensed drivers in 2023.
ACTS Yearly Report Draft — Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths
In Minnesota, Indigenous people, who comprise 0.9% of the population, were involved in 3.5% of fatal vehicle crashes from 2015-2019.
Race and Transportation Trend Analysis — Minnesota GO
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