Impaired Driving Arrests Up Across Minnesota

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News)- Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety is reporting an increase in impaired driving arrests this year compared to 2021. 

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A news release says law enforcement across Minnesota has arrested 24,725 people from the beginning of the year through December 12 for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Those arrests are up from 23,301 reported at the same time last year. 

Over 300 law enforcement agencies are participating in a statewide crackdown on impaired drivers. The extra enforcement began on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and so far authorities have arrested 1,427 impaired drivers, the Office of Traffic Safety says. 

State officials have released some of the notable traffic stops as the campaign reaches its half-way mark: 

• A State Patrol trooper in Oakdale stopped a 23-year-old driver for going 103 in a 65 mph zone. He was arrested for DWI with a 0.10 BAC and cited for reckless driving. It was the third time the driver had been stopped for speeding over 100 mph.
• A Faribault police officer stopped a 37-year-old driver for speeding with five kids in the car under age 15. Four of the five children were not wearing seat belts. The driver was arrested for DWI with 0.15 BAC and cited for driving after revocation and speed.
• A Bemidji police officer arrested a 26-year-old driver after he nearly hit pedestrians during a parade. He had a 0.28 BAC.
• An Elk River police officer arrested a 39-year-old man for driving impaired with a 0.269 BAC.
• A State Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle for a driving complaint. The 29-year-old man told the trooper he was tired. He was arrested for second degree DWI with a 0.41 BAC.
• A Chaska police officer arrested a 29-year-old man. He could not perform any of the field sobriety tests. He had a 0.334 BAC.
• A State Patrol trooper in St. Louis County arrested a 37-year-old man for going 107 in a 60 mph zone. He was suspected of being impaired on drugs.
• Burnsville police arrested a 26-year-old man for DWI with a 0.173 BAC. His pregnant girlfriend and her 9-year-old and 12-year-old children were in the vehicle.
• Plymouth police responded to two separate crashes within minutes of each other. The first was a two-vehicle crash. The driver was arrested with a 0.327 BAC. Twelve minutes later, a vehicle went off the roadway and struck a tree. That driver was arrested with a 0.323 BAC.
• A State Patrol trooper arrested a 60-year-old woman with a 0.11 BAC. She was stopped for going 92 in a 70 mph zone. She had left a Thanksgiving lunch and was on her way to Duluth for a Thanksgiving dinner. She had an open bottle of alcohol under the driver’s seat.

The extra enforcement effort runs until the end of the year. The Office of Traffic Safety and Minnesota Department of Public Safety have also released a new video to remind Minnesotans of the consequences of impaired driving.