Hennepin tops list of worst counties for drunken driving

The state launched its annual crackdown on impaired driving with new data and fresh warnings.

By Eric M. Hanson, Star Tribune

Last update: December 5, 2007 - 10:17 PM

Though arrests are up and deaths are down in the last five years, drunken driving remains a factor in more than a third of traffic deaths, officials stressed Wednesday as they released the list of the state's 15 deadliest counties for impaired driving.

Despite increased enforcement, "impaired driving remains one of the biggest threats on Minnesota roads," said Cheri Mari, the director of the office of traffic safety for the state Department of Public Safety.

More than 500,000 people -- one out of every eight licensed drivers -- has a drunken-driving arrest on their record, a statistic highlighted as the department launched its annual December drunken-driving crackdown.

The list is a snapshot of alcohol-related deaths, serious injuries and drunken-driving arrests.

Leading the way was heavily populated and heavily traveled Hennepin County, with alcohol contributing to 48 deaths and 202 severe injuries from 2004-2006, the latest statistics available from the state. Ramsey and Anoka counties were ranked second and third.

Counties joining the list this year were Beltrami, Cass, Olmsted and Rice. Not surprisingly, they are also among the state's most populous counties.

Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp said Wednesday he was surprised to learn that, because the county has been more aggressive in making drunken-driving arrests.

There were eight alcohol-related deaths in Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, between 2004 and 2006.

The county's population is more than 42,000 but arrests for drunken driving, along with the population, swell in the summer, he said. Vacationers, who bump the population in the Bemidji region to more than 150,000 during the summer, tend to do more partying and drinking, he said.

Counties that fell off the list this year were Itasca and Scott.

The state puts the cost for alcohol-related traffic crashes in Hennepin County at $66 million in those years, followed by $41.7 million for Ramsey County and $37.3 million for Anoka County.

Some sparsely populated counties, Norman, Cottonwood and Jackson, meanwhile, reported no alcohol-related traffic deaths in the three-year period.

More than 400 Minnesota law enforcement agencies are participating in a statewide, impaired-driving enforcement effort all this month. Enhanced patrols also will be conducted in the 15 counties.

Last year, according to the Department of Public Safety, alcohol-related traffic crashes resulted in 166 deaths. Nearly 42,000 people were arrested for driving while drunk last year. Each was a record figure.

According to the department, young people and males constitute the majority of arrested impaired drivers.

The number of arrests made this year probably won't top last year's record figure, said Nathan Bowie, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. Through October there have been 33,555 arrests made for drunken driving, he said.

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report. Eric M. Hanson • 612-673-7517

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