Operation Safe and Sober

High Visibility DWI Saturation

High Visibility DWI Saturation (High Viz.)patrols target the State's 13 Deadliest Counties for Impaired Driving.  High Viz. efforts combine resources from the Minnesota State Patrol, county sheriff’s offices and city police departments to conduct enhanced DWI patrols to saturate specific roadways where impaired driving is likely. The program is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and coordinated by the Office of Traffic Safety.

High Viz. efforts target Minnesota's "13 Deadliest Counties" for impaired driving. During 2005–2007, these counties accounted for nearly half of the state’s alcohol-related deaths (272) and serious injuries (663). The deadliest counties are selected by the combination of alcohol-related deaths and serious injuries:

• Hennepin
• Ramsey
• Anoka
• St. Louis
• Dakota
• Wright
• Stearns
• Rice
• Sherburne
• Crow Wing
• Washington
• Blue Earth
• Itasca 

Minnesota Safe and Sober

Buckle up.  Drive sober. Drive Attentively.  Drive at safe speeds and non-aggressively.  These are the components of Safe & Sober, a national and state program administered by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety.  Law enforcement in Minnesota - local police, county sheriffs and State Patrol - participate to educate drivers and enforce traffic laws.  The primary objectives of Safe & Sober are to increase seat belt use and to reduce alcohol-related crashes.

- Injuries from traffic crashes are the leading cause of death of people from age 1 to 34.
- Seat belt use reduces the chance of dying in a crash by 50 percent.
- Two-thirds of Minnesotans killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
- About 40 percent of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related.
- Speeding is the leading cause in fatal crashes.
- Inattentive driving is the leading cause of injury crashes, and second highest cause of fatal crashes.
- In Minnesota, there is a murder every 67.9 hours.  In comparison, there is a traffic fatality every 15 hours.

The coordinator for Minnesota Safe and Sober Campaign and the High Vizibility DWI Saturations for the Osseo Police Department is Officer Shane Mikkelson. Please e-mail him with any questions or comments at smikkelson@ci.osseo.mn.us

Website for Safe and Sober