WILLMAR -- From Aug. 17 through Sept. 3, law enforcement in Kandiyohi and Swift counties will be on the roads in full force to crack down on impaired driving.
According to a Safe & Sober press release from Sheriff's Offices in Kandiyohi and Swift counties, Minnesota tallied a record-low 166 alcohol-related traffic deaths in 2006, but also a record high 41,832 arrests for driving while impaired.
In conjunction with the statewide Safe & Sober campaign and the nationwide crackdown, the sheriff's offices hope to minimize alcohol-related traffic deaths and arrests while raising local awareness of keeping impaired drivers off Minnesota roadways.
Prior to the impaired driving crackdown, local law enforcement will also be conducting an education and enforcement effort on increasing driving speeds. Kandiyohi and Swift counties can expect the anti-speeding effort to continue until Aug. 16.
Nationwide, law enforcement records about 13,000 alcohol-related traffic deaths each year with nearly half the deaths being made up by drivers 18-34 years old. In Minnesota alone, 59 percent of alcohol-related fatalities were with motorists in that age range.
