Did you know that for at least the past two years, Minnesota State Police have been conducting major drunk driving crackdowns from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve? Yes, patrols have been increased during this window, and the statistics that these crackdowns have revealed will certainly prove useful to many people and organizations.
According to the most recent crackdown (2013), more people were caught for driving under the influence of alcohol than the previous year (2012). In fact, there were 84 more people caught by the police for DWI in 2013.
However, this unfortunate statistic is offset by a more positive one: annual deaths related to drunk driving plummeted by 59 percent from 2003 to 2013.
It’s an interesting set of statistics that paint two totally different pictures. On the one hand, the recent crackdowns seem to show that drunk driving is on the rise. But the fatalities related to drunk driving seem to show a sharp decline in the number of drunk driving incidents. Going from 196 drunk driving deaths in 2003 to just 81 deaths in 2013 is an astonishing turnaround.
What should be abundantly clear by now is that no one should get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after they have been consuming alcohol. Sadly, this realization just doesn’t seem to be setting in with everyone, though there are some signs of improvement.
Avoid the driver’s seat once you have had an alcoholic beverage. Taking that risk only opens you up to liability and immense penalties.
Source: Grand Forks Herald, “Monthlong DWI crackdown results in 2,537 DWI arrests across Minnesota,” Lisa Kaczke, Jan. 7, 2015
