MN Drunk Driving Arrests Decline for 8th Consecutive Year

Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the number of drunk driving arrests in the state declined last year, but the tally from a statewide enforcement campaign at the end of the year was up by nearly 100 when compared to the crackdown conducted during the holidays in 2013.

Officials note one of the arrests involved a woman in Freeborn County who was found passed out behind the wheel of a running car that was parked in the driveway of a State Trooper’s home. Her blood-alcohol concentration was tested at .45, over five times the legal limit.

The department says the State Patrol and the hundreds of local law enforcement agencies that participated in the campaign made 2537 drunk driving arrests between November 26 and in the end of the year. The total from the 2013 campaign was 2453.

The drunk driving arrest total for the entire year was 24,159, which was down over 1500 from the previous year. It marked the 8th straight year Minnesota has seen a decline in drunk driving arrests.