NC law enforcement cracks down on speeding during Easter weekend

Drivers on the roads this holiday weekend are reminded to slow down.

Law enforcement officers in North Carolina are cracking down on speeding as the number people on highways increases for Spring Break, travel and Easter.

WRAL’s Aaron Thomas did a ride along with a Wake County sheriff’s deputy on Thursday. The deputy caught two speeders along Interstate 40. The drivers pushed speeds of up to 90 mph.

“Speeding is a problem,” deputy Beckley Vaughan said.

Vaughan said speeding can happen anywhere.

“Urban areas, rural areas, in the city, around the city, way out in the county,” Vaughan said.

The initiative from North Carolina law enforcement officers is known as the “Speed a Little, Lose a Lot” campaign, which runs through Sunday.

“Speeding is something many of us do without realizing it,” said Mark Ezzell of the Governor's Highway Safety Program

This year, 52 people have died in speed-related crashes in North Carolina, state data shows. It’s about a 25% drop from the same time period in 2023.

Speeding was the leading factor in deadly car crashes in 2022.

Ezzell said speeding endangers the lives of everyone on roads.

“Every one of those statistics is a life lost,” Ezzell said. “A family member, community member who is no longer there.

The effort from increased patrols aims to make North Carolina roads safe during the Easter holiday weekend.

“The end goal is not to have write tickets or put people in jail for serious traffic offenses,” Vaughan said.