Law Enforcement Keeps Roads Safe with More Than 2,200 DWI Arrests Over Holiday Season

Troopers, Deputies and Police Officers Participated in Holiday DWI Extra Enforcement Campaign Nov. 23-Dec. 31

ST. PAUL — Troopers, deputies and police officers statewide made 2,228 DWI arrests during the holiday DWI campaign from Nov. 23 through New Year’s Eve. The arrest numbers compare with 2,012 DWI arrests during the 2021 campaign.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) coordinates the campaign with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The campaign includes extra patrols and advertising in support of the Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program.

“When a person is impaired, smart decisions aren’t going to happen. Law enforcement saw that repeatedly during the holiday DWI campaign,” said OTS director Mike Hanson. “One bad decision can put so many people at risk. Thankfully, law enforcement stopped those decisions from further endangering lives. Plan a safe ride home if you’re going to drink, take medications or consume other drugs like THC edibles that may put you at risk of a DWI.”

Crashes and Arrests Highlight Impaired Driving Dangers

A trooper in Roseau found a 58-year-old man passed out in the driver’s seat of a vehicle stuck in a snowbank. 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 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.
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper arrested a 60-year-old female driver near North Branch for DWI with 0.11 BAC. She had left a Thanksgiving lunch and was on her way to a Thanksgiving dinner. She was speeding 92 mph in a 70, unsafely passing other motorists, and had an open alcohol bottle under the driver’s seat.
A Mounds View officer was conducting a traffic stop when his marked squad car was almost struck by another vehicle. The officer then pulled over the vehicle that almost hit his car and the driver was arrested for DWI with a 0.13 BAC.
Law enforcement agencies also were looking for drugged driving impairment. Agencies such as Bayport and Northfield police, and the Grant County, Hubbard County, Redwood County, and Watonwan County sheriff’s offices made drug-related DWI arrests.