MN Dept. of Safety reminding you to drive sober as we head into the holidays

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) – Minnesota Department of Safety is reminding people to drive sober as we head into the holidays. This also means there will be extra DWI patrols throughout the state.

“Impaired is impaired. Doesn’t matter what you’re using,” said Mike Hanson, the DPS Director of Traffic Safety. “Whether it’s alcohol, or whether it’s cannabis or a prescription drug or anything like that. If you feel different, you drive different and you don’t want to put yourself in the position of asking yourself, should I be driving. Because if you are asking yourself that, it’s already too late.”

State Patrol and DPS says there has been a dramatic increase in DWI incidents between 2013 to 2017 when there were over eight-thousand cases, compared to nearly 16-thousand between 2018 to 2022. This DWI enforcement campaign will run from November 22 to New Year’s Eve.