Police officers may have the best chance of stopping DUIs in Los Angeles and other areas when they understand who is at the greatest risk of driving under the influence and when and where such incidents are most likely to occur. Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety has compiled that information for their state and released it for public review in its report, “Minnesota Impaired Driving Facts 2015.”
The report revealed that:
• One out of every seven licensed Minnesota drivers has at least one DWI.
• There were 25,027 DWI arrests in Minnesota in 2015. That averages out to 69 DUIs per day.
• The average blood alcohol content for drivers convicted of DWI was 0.16 percent. The average for DUI drivers involved in a fatal crash was 0.19 percent.
• 137 (33 percent) of the 411 people who died on Minnesota Roads in 2015 were killed in alcohol-related crashes. That included crashes where authorities detected any evidence of alcohol in a driver, pedestrian or bicyclist.
• In 23 percent of those fatal cases (95 fatalities), the blood alcohol content of the driver involved in the crash was .08 or higher.
• 2,203 people suffered injuries in alcohol-related crashes on Minnesota’s roads in 2015.
The report notes that DUI driving fatalities in Minnesota decreased by 8 percent between 2011 and 2015. The number of motorists arrested for DWI in 2015 was the lowest since 1980s, when more than 250 people died each year in alcohol-related crashes.
Wonder how California compares? In 2014, the last year figures are available, California had 882 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities and 28.7 of them involved alcohol impairment, according to responsibility.org. More than 70 percent of alcohol-related driving fatalities involved drivers with blood alcohol contents of 0.15 or higher.
What should you do if you or someone you love faces a serious DUI count? Will you go to jail? Will you lose your license? Call Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer Michael Kraut immediately to understand your options and craft a strategic response.