Stepped Up DWI Enforcement Campaign Nets Over 2,200 Arrests

(KNSI) — The Minnesota State Patrol says they, along with their law enforcement partners across the state, arrested more than 2,200 impaired drivers during a stepped up DWI enforcement campaign over the holiday season.

From November 23rd through New Year’s Eve, there were 2,228 DWI arrests, which is a couple dozen more than the 2021 campaign. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety coordinates the campaign with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The campaign includes extra patrols and advertising supporting the Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program.

Several drivers were arrested with a BAC over .3, including the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, who arrested a driver with a .33, and the Minnesota State Patrol Detroit Lakes district, who arrested a driver with a .366 BAC. The highest was a state trooper in the west metro district who arrested a driver with a BAC of .41. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Among those arrested was a 58-year-old man passed out in the driver’s seat of a vehicle stuck in a snowbank in Roseau. The man’s foot was on the accelerator, the engine was revving at high RPMs, and there were open bottles in the vehicle. The man had a 0.21 blood alcohol concentration or BAC. Faribault police stopped a 37-year-old male driver for speeding. He was arrested for DWI with a 0.15 BAC. There were five kids in the car under age 15. Four out of the five children were not wearing seat belts. The driver was also cited for driving after revocation and speeding.

In greater Minnesota, agencies with the most DWI arrests during the campaign included the Wright County Sheriff’s Office with 38 and the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office with 35.

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