Minnesota Reveals Startling Results From Holiday DWI Enforcement

By now, everyone knows the dangers of drinking and driving, which was a catalyst for the creation of the Toward Zero Deaths strategy. (TZD).

The TZD National Strategy on Highway Safety collaborates with state agencies, private industry, national organizations, and others to develop safety plans that prioritize traffic safety culture and promote the national TZD vision.

Minnesota law enforcement agencies are among those who participate, which is important because, according to Toward Zero Deaths, one person dies every 16 minutes in a traffic crash in the United States. Throughout a lifetime, nearly every U.S. resident is touched by the consequences of traffic crashes.

As a part of its strategy, extra DWI enforcement is strategically placed on roads during times of the year when there is likely increased traffic. Most recently, there was extra enforcement on Minnesota roads during the holiday season, from November 27 through December 31, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety recently shared the results of that campaign, and the numbers and stories are startling.

Results Of Minnesota Holiday DWI Campaign

According to officials, Minnesota troopers, deputies, and police officers made 2,079 driving while impaired (DWI) arrests during the 2024 holiday enforcement campaign. They add that each DWI arrest tells a story of reckless, irresponsible behavior that puts lives at risk.

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For example, in St. Paul, one driver stopped by police said she thought she was OK to drive after having dinner with a friend. She had a 0.112 blood alcohol content (BAC). The legal limit is 0.08.

In Minneapolis, a trooper arrested a driver who had three children in his vehicle. His BAC was 0.186.

Stories Of Arrests And Crashes Highlight Impaired Driving Dangers

The stories above are just a couple of examples of what officers encountered during the DWI campaign. Here are other stories reported throughout the state:

A trooper responded to a call of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 35 in Duluth. He located the vehicle and arrested the driver for DWI with a 0.19 BAC.
A Mounds View police officer pulled over a driver for swerving and expired tabs. The woman denied drinking any alcohol. The results proved otherwise. She was three times the legal limit with a 0.24 BAC.
An impaired driver with 21 prior DWI convictions was taken off the road thanks to the efforts of a Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office deputy. After speeding in Brooklyn Center and eventually crashing in Minneapolis, the driver was arrested for felony DWI.
White Bear Lake police stopped a driver for speeding and expired tabs. The driver was impaired and had an 8-month-old child in the vehicle.
The Minnesota State Patrol in the Marshall district responded to a vehicle rollover crash. The impaired driver had his two children in the vehicle.
A trooper responded to a two-vehicle rear-end crash in Maplewood. He determined one of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol. The trooper arrested the driver after they tested 0.400 BAC.

Highest BACs Found In Minnesota's Metro-area

In the Twin Cities metro area, the highest BACs reported included:

Brooklyn Park Police Department: 0.38
Shakopee Police Department: 0.36
North St. Paul Police Department: 0.36
South St. Paul Police Department: 0.34

Highest BACs Found In Greater Minnesota

In greater Minnesota, the highest BACs reported included:

Elk River Police Department: 0.415
Itasca County Sheriff’s Office: 0.37
Bemidji Police Department: 0.36
Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office: 0.36
Wyoming Police Department: 0.36
Minnesota State Patrol Duluth district: 0.33
Minnesota State Patrol Mankato district: 0.33

DWI Arrests Made By Agencies In The Twin Cities Metro Area

In the Twin Cities metro area, agencies with the most DWI arrests during the campaign included:

Minnesota State Patrol West Metro: 247
Minnesota State Patrol East Metro: 115
St. Paul Police Department: 54
Minneapolis Police Department: 39
Woodbury Police Department: 37
Shakopee Police Department: 35

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DWI Arrests Made By Agencies In Greater Minnesota

In greater Minnesota, agencies with the most DWI arrests during the campaign included:

Rochester Police Department: 57
Minnesota State Patrol St. Cloud district: 39
Wright County Sheriff’s Office: 36
Minnesota State Patrol Virginia District: 35

Participating Agencies And BAC Levels

You can click the button above to view a complete list of participating agencies and BAC levels.

Remember Impaired Is Impaired

Law enforcement officials stress that being impaired doesn't just mean alcohol. In addition to alcohol, substances ranging from cannabis and hemp-derived THC products to prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs can also affect safe driving abilities. It is illegal to drive while impaired by any substance and there are no exceptions.

Of this recent campaign, Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson said, “To those sober drivers I say thank you; it really was a gift. For those who chose to drive impaired, we’re grateful to our law enforcement partners who are relentlessly protecting Minnesotans from those reckless decisions.”