Minnesota Impaired Driving Fact Sheet
Source: Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety
Alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities continue to be a serious problem in Minnesota. Overall, males and young adults are overrepresented in alcohol-related crashes and account for a disproportionate share of fatalities. More than one-half million Minnesotans with driver license records have a DWI.
· The legal alcohol limit for drivers in Minnesota is 0.08. It is always illegal to drive with an alcohol-concentration level of 0.08 or above. Motorists can be arrested under 0.08 if they demonstrate impaired driving behavior. If a motorist’s alcohol-concentration is at 0.08 percent or higher, it is a criminal offense with penalties ranging from misdemeanor to felony. It is also a violation of civil law that triggers automatic driver license revocation for a minimum of 90 days for a first-time offense.
· During 2005–2007, Minnesota averaged 521 traffic deaths per year — 184 (35 percent) per year were impaired-driving related. Of the impaired drivers killed, 71 percent were not wearing a seat belt.
· Over the same three years, there were 117,730 DWI arrests — translating to more than 107 DWI arrests a day. In 2007, 38,661 DWI arrests were made.
· 2007, the Twin Cities’ metro area had 49 percent of the impaired driving arrests and the 80-county non-metro area 51 percent.
· In 2007, males accounted for 68 percent of impaired driving arrests. Recent year trends show an increase in female DWI offenders.
· Young persons — especially people in their 20s — accounted for a disproportionate share of all arrests. In 2007, people in their 20s represented 31 percent of DWI arrests.
· Of all Minnesota residents, more than one-half million— 505,152 — had a DWI on record. One in every eight persons in Minnesota with a driving record (including those with licenses revoked, cancelled, etc.) has a DWI; 213,744 (one in 18) have two or more arrests; 99,688 (one in 39) have three or more; and, 1,138 (one in 3,434) have 10 or more.
· Drinking and driving is especially prevalent on weekends. In 2007, 16 percent of impaired driving crashes occurred on Fridays, 24 percent on Saturdays, and 20 percent on Sundays.
· Most impaired driving offenders are first-time offenders. In 2007, 23,650 (61 percent of all violators) were issued their first DWI. Still, many offenses are committed by persons with prior DWIs on their record. In 2007, 15,011 (39 percent) of violators had prior DWIs on record.
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