North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers will be out on the roads this week enforcing the statewide “No Need 2 Speed” campaign.

“’No Need 2 Speed’ is really when we focus on speeding violations — even more than we normally would be,” said 1st Sgt. Brandon Craft, of NCSHP Troop A, District IV, which covers Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties. “You know speeding is one of the major causes of wrecks that we have out there.”

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, speeding was a factor in 399 deaths in the state last year.

“We are all busy and we all have places to be,” wrote Becky Wallace, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, in an press release. “That extra couple of minutes you might save isn’t worth your life or the life of a loved one — slow down and obey the speed limit.”

The initiative will focus on all roads, including interstates, major highways, rural two-lane roads and city streets across the state. State and local law enforcement agencies cited 13,435 motorists for speeding during last year’s weeklong initiative.

“We wrote 119 speeding tickets last week in the district — at this time of year, that’s average, but summertime, holiday weekends, we’ll double that,” Craft, adding that other citations included 69 seatbelt and 14 child-restraint violations.

With the holiday weekend coming up, Craft said the highway patrol is expecting a lot more traffic. The “No Need 2 Speed” campaign kicked off on Monday and will last through Sunday.

Dangerous driving can be reported to local law enforcement by dialing 911 from anywhere in the state.  For more information on “No Need 2 Speed,” visit the Governor’s Highway Safety Program website.