There were fewer arrests for DWIs in Minnesota this Fourth of July holiday weekend and the holiday experienced an 80 percent reduction in fatal highway crashes. Both numbers showed improvement from the five-year averages, according to preliminary numbers reported by the Minnesota State Patrol.
Prior to the holiday weekend, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued a press release that strongly suggested that you not celebrate Independence Day locked up behind bars, and supplied a tally of traffic fatalities that occurred during holidays in the last five years.
The DPS noted that the Fourth of July was the most dangerous, having the greatest number of fatal crashes since 2010. We appear to have been fortunate that this year saw a drop from the five fatal crashes last year to one this year.
Because the DPS, State Patrol and many other local law enforcement agencies make holidays like the Fourth of July part of major campaigns to reduce drunk driving and enforce traffic laws, there tend to be additional troopers and other officers on the road, focused on driving behavior that appears to be impaired. And don’t forget, your boat is motor vehicle and boating while intoxicated carries some of the same penalties a DWI carries.
If you were one of the 300 stopped and issued a DWI, even if it was your first, you need to be certain that you treat it with the seriousness that it deserves.
The consequence of a DWI conviction can be severe and can lead to loss of your license, increased insurance cost, other expenses and significant enhancements to penalties should you be charged with a subsequent DWI within the requisite period of years.
Source: bringmethenews.com, “300+ drunk driving arrests, 1 fatality in MN over the July 4 weekend,” Melanie Sommer, July 6, 2015
