Minnesota made some big strides when it came to staying sober on the roadways over the 4th of July holiday weekend last year, and we hoped that trend would continue in 2016. The arrest statistics from the holiday weekend were recently released by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety, and needless to say, the numbers are a disappointment compared to last year’s total.
468 Minnesotans were arrested for drunk driving over the 4th of July weekend, a large increase from 2015 when 328 people were booked for the same crime. That’s good for a 42 percent increase in DUI arrests over the holiday weekend. The Minnesota Office of traffic Safety simply said that “too many” people made poor choices over the extended weekend.
Minnesota experienced a significant drop off in DUI arrests over the 4th of July holiday in 2015, as statistics suggest that the average number of people caught driving drunk during that period is 421. Even if we use 421 arrests as a baseline, we still experienced more than a 10 percent jump in DUI arrests over the 2016 holiday.
It was also a deadly weekend on the roads. The Office of Traffic Safety reports that six people were killed in five different traffic accidents. That’s two more than the average of four traffic-related fatalities over the 4th of July weekend.
Why The Increase?
So why did the number of DUI arrests jump so drastically this year? Well, we know that it wasn’t wasn’t for lack of knowledge that police would be conducting extra patrols. The Office of Traffic Safety announced that there would be extra DUI patrols over the holiday weekend in the days prior to the holiday, a message we echoed on our blog. Even if people didn’t hear that there would be extra enforcement, it’s not like this is a new practice, as Minnesota police routinely increase DUI patrols around holidays like Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.
So remember, when you’re out on the roads, police are watching. If you choose to drink, make the smart decision not to get behind the wheel. It could save you thousands of dollars, or it could save someone’s life. In the event that you or someone you know makes a mistake behind the wheel, don’t hesitate to reach out to Avery Appelman at (952) 224-2277 right away.
