ST. CLOUD — The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are the most dangerous days on the road in Minnesota.

Preliminary numbers show the 100-day stretch accounted for around 124 fatalities, about 33 percent of all traffic deaths, in 2018, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

This year, new laws and a pilot project will take effect and aim to change the culture of the roadways.

Here are three changes to keep in mind while driving this summer:

Red light technology

In the last three years, Minnesota has had 22 fatal crashes at intersections because of red light violations, according to the Department of Public Safety.

A pilot project has installed a new camera aimed at catching red light violators at Second Street South and Minnesota Highway 15 in St. Cloud.

The camera allows officers to view red-light violations in real time. It is the first in the state. The project started June 1 and lasts 90 days.

If the system works as intended during the pilot, the State Patrol will invite area law enforcement to use the system.

The system consists of two cameras—one looks at the color of the signal and the other at the vehicle position — and feeds a live stream to officers who are parked down the street, meaning they can stop violators downstream.

Violations are captured on video and saved for 48 hours, then deleted, unless an officer manually saves it.

"Slowpoke" left-lane law

The left lane or "slowpoke" law aimed at slower-moving vehicles has changed from its initial form, according to Scott Newman, chair of the transportation committee in the Minnesota Senate.

The bill, sponsored by John Jasinski, R-Faribault, was signed into law last month.

People who camp out in the left lane could be cited with a $50 fine starting Aug. 1, Newman said.

The underlying idea is to prevent what Newman calls a "wolf pack," or a chain of cars stuck behind someone driving in the left lane.

People are required to move out of the left lane when traveling on interstates or multi-lane roads after they have finished passing slower-moving traffic. This was already law in Minnesota, but now violators may face fines.

"It modernizes the existing language," said Jesse Grabow, a Minnesota State Patrol sergeant, of the new law.

Enforcement will come down to what troopers and officers observe on the roads. Drivers can use the left lane to pass, but "nothing in this allows vehicles to speed," Grabow said.

Hands-free law

A hands-free law preventing drivers from holding their phones will also take effect Aug. 1.

Drivers may use voice commands to operate their phones for navigation, calls or music. Video calls are not allowed.

Violators face a $50 ticket for the first offense, plus court fees, and subsequent tickets will cost $275 plus court fees.

Mike Hanson, director of the Office of Traffic Safety, said education is an important aspect of the hands-free law.

Funds have been allocated for outreach between now and the next year or so, according to Hanson, to raise awareness about the new law.

"The larger part of this is we have to change our habits and change our culture of what we do behind the wheel," Hanson said.

While it can be hard to investigate if cell phone use is involved in crashes, according to Hanson, "We very much believe it is under-reported."

The issue of distracted driving requires everyone working together to solve it, according to Hanson, and the new law prohibits people from having their phone in their hands at all.

"The time to change is now," said Hanson.

More information can be found at HandsFreeMN.org.

This story was corrected to reflect the link to get more information on the hands-free law is HandsFreeMN.org.