Drive Sober, Drive Smart: Extra DWI Enforcement on MN Roads

I find this number to be absolutely, completely mind-blowing, but Minnesota law enforcement have already made 13,816 DWI arrests so far in 2020.

This past weekend's 281 statewide DWI busts bring the total close to 14,000. With the year a little past halfway mark, it seems as though blowing past the 20,000 DWI mark is a sure thing by the end of 2020.

That's so crazy to me. I cannot for the life of me understand why we keep doing this. Drink, have fun, whatever -- but we need to stop getting behind the wheel. This is not going to end well.

In addition to drinking and driving arrests going through the roof, excessive speeding has become an epidemic in 2020.

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Law enforcement agencies in Minnesota launching an increased enforcement campaign beginning today through Labor Day to crack down on impaired driving enforcement. The Minnesota State Patrol is partnering with more than 300 other agencies statewide to step up DWI enforcement.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is recognizing 48 officers, troopers, deputies, and prosecutors as the 13th DWI All-Star team. The All-Stars made 3,170 combined DWI arrests across Minnesota in 2019, protecting people from a driver’s choice to risk their own life and the lives of other people on the road by driving impaired.

Mike Hanson, the DPS Office of Traffic Safety director says,

We’re so proud of the DWI All-Stars’ commitment to DWI enforcement and the priority that they place on saving lives and preventing serious injuries. The All-Stars’ work and the efforts of all of our law enforcement and traffic safety partners in Minnesota are helping change dangerous driving behaviors. We can’t enforce our way out of impaired driving. It’s up to each driver to make the choice to drive sober and drive smart.

The Labor Day holiday period falls only behind Halloween and the Fourth of July for the highest number of DWI arrests per hour compared with other holidays.