Duluth Police Department Enhanced DWI Enforcement Starts Thursday

With the holidays come celebrations. Enjoy yourself, but don't drink and drive. The Duluth Police department wants to remind you that you don’t have to have yourself a merry little time in jail if you plan ahead for a sober ride.  For your safety and the safety of others, don't drink and drive!  The Duluth Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Hermantown Police Department, Proctor Police Department, Floodwood Police Department, UMD Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol will be partnering in Enhanced DWI patrols to take impaired drivers off the road beginning Thursday, December 6th. Area law enforcement agencies will increase drunk driving enforcement during a statewide and nationwide "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" DWI enforcement effort in December. The campaign is coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety.

Statewide in Minnesota in 2011:

368 total deaths — 111 were a result of a drunk driver crash

29,257 DWI arrests.

Safe Driving Behavior tips:

• If you plan on partying, plan on a safe ride in advance.
• Designate a sober driver.
• Let family/friends know you will be available at any time to offer a safe ride home.
• Take a cab or public transportation.
• Sleep over at a friend’s house or the location of the celebration.
• Leave your vehicle behind — you can retrieve your vehicle the next day.
• Buckle up. Motorists should wear lap belts low and snug across the hips; shoulder straps should never be tucked under an arm or behind the back — not only is this unsafe, it is illegal.
• Report impaired driving — call 911 when witnessing impaired driving behavior. Witnesses must be prepared to provide location, license plate and observed dangerous behavior.

The efforts conducted by Area Law Enforcement are components of the state’s Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) traffic safety program. A primary vision of the TZD program is to create a safe driving culture in Minnesota in which motorists support a goal of zero road fatalities by practicing and promoting safe and smart driving behavior. TZD focuses on the application of four strategic areas to reduce crashes — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency trauma response.

(Duluth Police Department Press Release)