One in Seven Minnesota Drivers Has a DWI

It was a normal, cold Tuesday morning for Golden Valley police in mid-February when several calls came in complaining of a suspicious driver. Before noon, police had pulled over and arrested a man for driving while intoxicated. But, this was no rookie; it turned out to be his eighth DWI on record.

“It’s kind of the thing where we can’t really plan for it because you never know where you’re going to come across an individual who is drunk driving,” says Joanne Paul, crime analyst with the Golden Valley Police Department.

While police hadn’t planned on making a DWI arrest before noon that day, Paul says unfortunately, it’s become all too common. So common in fact, the latest statistics from 2009 show one out of every seven current Minnesota drivers has a DWI on record.

According to the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety, in 2009 32,756 motorists were arrested for DWI; That averages out to about 90 DWIs issued per day throughout the state of Minnesota. 41 percent of those arrested already had one DWI on their record.

 “I would think that stronger penalties may get some of their attention and they would re-think about doing it again,” says Paul. “The problem is when people consume alcohol, they just aren’t thinking correctly and aren’t drinking responsibly.”

Paul says Golden Valley’s geographic location and highway-heavy infrastructure puts them in a prime position to catch those who aren’t drinking responsibly.  That’s why the police force beefed up its traffic enforcement in 2010 by 32% over 2009, and from 2008 to 2009, enforcement increased 90%.

"Part of the officer’s job when they initially stop that person is to not only deal with a [possible] drunk driving incident,” says Paul, "but to make sure there is nothing else going on.”

Paul says in 2010, Golden Valley officers made 193 DWI arrests, up from 185 in 2009 and 173 in 2008.

In 2009, more than 19,000 alcohol-related crashes occurred in Hennepin County alone, resulting in 15 deaths.

“We’ve had our share of DWI accidents and we’ve certainly seen injuries including deaths caused by impaired drivers and yes, we feel it’s important as a department to keep our citizens safe by making that a priority,” says Golden Valley Police Commander Mike Meehan.

Cmdr. Meehan is in charge of one of the city’s two DWI enforcement grants, the Night Cap Grant, which is administered by the State Patrol through the Office of Traffic Safety.   The Golden Valley Police department has been handling the Night Cap grant for several years, which specifically focuses on catching those driving while under the influence of alcohol.

“We employ during enforcement waves dictated by the State Patrol,” says Cmdr. Meehan. “We’ll have about one to three cars on an eight hour shift, at least for part of that shift they’ll be designated to a particular area.”

Cmdr . Meehan says each month officers are placed in a different location throughout the metro area to make it a regional DWI enforcement effort. The dates and times usually coincide with a reason more people would choose to drink and drive; like many holidays that go hand-in-hand with partying.

In addition, Cmdr. Meehan says Golden Valley Police also administer a Safe and Sober grant and a H.E.A.T grant that also deals with traffic enforcement. The overtime money it costs to employ the Golden Valley Police officers to accomplish these grants comes from the Minnesota Department of Transportation through the State Patrol.

 “It is a statewide effort,” says Paul, “certainly three’s different priorities depending on what county you’re in. Since we have several major highways going through our city, obviously it’s a priority to keep people safe when they’re traveling through Golden Valley.”

That’s why Paul reminds drivers that they can have a say-so in the public’s safety and a hopeful decrease for DWI statistics in the future.

“Whether it’s a drunk driver or even just bad weather, drive defensively, keep your eyes open, call us [9-1-1] if you suspect someone is driving impaired.”

 “Working here for 15 years, I believe that not only has the state of Minnesota made impaired driving a more serious matter through the criminal side, [but] I also think the public is better educated,” said Cmdr. Meehan.

And, as always, Paul reminds us, “one drink is too many if you’re going to be driving.”

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For more information on DWI statistics, visit the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety website.