Since 1970, more than 500,000 DWI arrests have been made by law enforcement officials, and more than 300,000 people have a drunk-driving conviction on their driving records. Since 1980, more than 3,000 people have been killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes, and more than 65,000 people have been injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes. In 1990, the total cost of alcohol-related traffic crashes was estimated to be $189.6 million. Also, in 1990 one out of five arrests made in Minnesota was for a DWI offense. A total of 38,785 alcohol-related driver's licenses revocations were processed by the Department of Public Safety in 1990; 15,981 of these revocations were identified as incidents that involved repeat DWI offenders. Some offenders were revoked for more than one incident in that year. In 1990, 790 drivers were involved in 503 fatal crashes that resulted in 568 deaths. As a sub-part of the total, 211 drinking drivers were involved in 196 fatal crashes that resulted in 222 deaths. Of the drinking drivers with an available driver's license record, 72 had either a prior DWI conviction or an implied consent license revocation and can be classified as repeat offenders.
Minnesota DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) Facts At-A- Glance
NCJ Number
149877
Date Published
May 1992
Annotation
This report describes the trends and scope of the DWI (driving while intoxicated) problem in Minnesota, using the most recent information available.
Abstract
Date Published: May 1, 1992