Traffic Safety Violations Disposition Analysis

Summary

This University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies project, mandated by the Minnesota Legislature, evaluated the enforcement and adjudication of traffic safety violations using more than 1.2 million case records from 2017 to 2022. The study found a 25% overall decline in citations, largely following the COVID-19 pandemic. Speeding citations dropped 28% (with police enforcement plummeting more than 60%), seatbelt citations fell 53%, and impairment citations declined 12%. This contrasts sharply with a 90% rise in distracted driving citations following the passage of the 2019 Hands-Free law. The steep declines in citations for speeding and impairment coincided with an increase in fatal crashes. Conversely, the prominent increase in distracted driving enforcement corresponded to a nearly 40% decline in related crashes, validating targeted policy interventions. Geographically, per-officer citation rates for driving while impaired (DWI) were higher in metro areas. Adjudication outcomes were stratified by charge severity. Conviction rates were consistently high for petty misdemeanors and higher-degree (gross misdemeanor, felony) cases. In contrast, cases with misdemeanor-level charges showed variable and significantly lower conviction rates, particularly for distracted driving (36%-54%). Judicial districts experienced a conviction low point in 2020 followed by a strong recovery. Findings also showed that targeted speed enforcement, not targeted impairment enforcement, increased DWI citations, suggesting an added public safety value of speed enforcement. These comprehensive data highlighted significant shifts in enforcement patterns that require closer attention from policymakers.