New Year’s Eve and Day are the busiest holidays for drunk driving in Minnesota

New Year’s Day already is the busiest holiday of the year for law enforcement to keep drunk driving in check. Combined with New Year’s Eve, it’s not even close.

From 2017 through 2023, Jan. 1 has netted almost 11% more drunk driving arrests across Minnesota than the second-busiest holiday, Independence Day, according to data from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

By combining the pre- and post-midnight Near Year’s celebrations on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, those two days racked up nearly 1,500 arrests in that seven-year period – 62% higher than July 4.

Every year, officers step up enforcement from Thanksgiving through the end of the year and hammer home public messaging about staying safe on the road. This year is no different.

“It’s really simple. You just have to have a plan ahead of time that you can stick to,” said Mike Hanson, the director of the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. “It’s a place to stay. It’s someone who is going to be completely sober who can get you home.”

Hanson said the two-day period is when people need to be thoughtful about their evenings and early mornings: use rideshare, a taxi or have a friend or family member pick them up.

Even for those who plan to drive and not drink, they should stay alert to what is happening around them and ensure everyone is wearing a seatbelt.

“If you see somebody who is about to make that really bad decision, step in and try to help them if you feel safe doing that,” he said. “Don’t let an impaired driver get behind the wheel.”

Hanson’s plea comes at a time when drunk driving is increasing in Minnesota.

Annual drunk driving arrests climbed for several years in the state until the pandemic struck in 2020. That year, arrests plummeted from about 27,300 to 22,600. Since then, they’ve steadily increased each year, reaching nearly 27,200 arrests in 2023.

Hanson said statewide arrests this year are running slightly behind the pace of 2023, “but not in a statistically significant way at all,” with almost 24,800 arrests as of Dec. 19.

On top of that, Hanson said, drug-impaired driving also is increasing in Minnesota. He said there’s a “huge, huge, huge” misconception that a driver can consume a little alcohol and a little cannabis or another substance and be OK to drive.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “It’s not safe at all.”

In November, 300 law enforcement agencies began a coordinated initiative to crack down on impaired drivers across the state and to encourage safe and sober driving.

Midway through December, state troopers have have picked up some alarming anecdotes, Hanson said.

Earlier this month, a trooper near St. Cloud arrested a man under suspicion of drunk driving two days in a row. In the Virginia, Minn., area, a woman with a blood-alcohol content that was more than twice the legal limit was driving five children home from a basketball game.

“There is no such thing as a happy New Year if you wind up in a jail cell,” Hanson said.