(St. Joseph, MI) - Drivers in Michigan should watch their speeds or run a greater risk of being ticketed.

According to the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement is out on the roads in greater force throughout the state. The increased enforcement responds to a 10-percent increase in traffic fatalities last year.

Police said there were 1,083 deaths on Michigan roadways in 2020, even though the number of total crashes declined by 22-percent. Speed was a factor in about 20-percent of the fatalities, police said.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, along with Michigan State Police and more than 100 law enforcement agencies, is taking part in the enforcement effort, which began Wednesday, until February 28.