It's not noted on holiday calendars, but this is a peak time for drunken driving in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.
Minnesota used to be considered the national gold standard for prevention efforts, in large part because of innovative laws aimed at keeping repeat offenders off the roads. We're no longer a model state, at least according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). That may help explain why Minnesota recorded a slight increase in alcohol-related fatalities in 2007 from the previous year, while many other states were recording declines.
"It's a matter of great state, could do better," said Kevin Quinlan, chief of safety advocacy for the agency. The NTSB recently rated the states based on a series of recommendations focused on what the agency calls hard-core drinking drivers, especially repeat offenders. Minnesota has adopted two of seven primary steps and all four secondary elements of the program.
One of the primary recommendations -- statewide sobriety checkpoints -- was found unconstitutional in Minnesota in 1994. For motorists who prefer that oncoming vehicles be operated by sober drivers, that was a lousy decision that should be overturned with a constitutional amendment. There are ways the Legislature could do more to help the cause, too.
Minnesota's Department of Public Safety (DPS) is run by skilled professionals who are dedicated to making the state's roads safer. They deserve to operate with a full toolbox of laws, regulations and adequate funding.
The State Patrol ramped up its efforts in December with a monthlong crackdown on DWIs. Even with companies cutting back on holiday parties, there's no reason to believe there will be fewer drunken drivers on the roads this pre-Christmas weekend, which traditionally ranks second only to St. Patrick's Day for DWI arrests. In a new twist, DPS teamed up with beer and licensed-beverage associations to offer "Designated Driver Gift Cards," which say the gift giver will serve as the recipient's sober driver. (For more information, go to minnesotasafeandsober.org.)
The gift card idea is creative and worthwhile, but tougher laws would have more impact. For example, the NTSB recommends that states have laws that trigger sanctions when drivers are arrested with blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.15 or higher. That would mean that even a first-time offender with BAC of 0.15 or above -- or almost twice the legal limit -- would face penalties more like those that typically kick in with second offenders, such as mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment. Minnesota's high BAC limit is 0.20, which is "way too high," according to the NTSB's Quinlan. Based on positive results in other states, the Legislature should move quickly to change the high BAC limit to 0.15.
Jean Ryan, coordinator of the impaired driving program at DPS, rightly points out that laws mean little if execution is weak, and she makes a strong case that drunken driving enforcement is a priority in Minnesota, with an emphasis on high-risk and repeat DWI offenders. While acknowledging that a change such as lowering the high BAC to 0.15 could be helpful, Ryan said 36 percent of the state's fatalities are alcohol-related -- a percentage point below the national average.
