Restaurant leaves thank you notes for drivers who find sober ride home
Photo: Minnesota State Patrol
(KMSP) - Law enforcement agencies across the state are making an extra effort to crack down on drinking and driving this holiday season.
Extra DWI enforcement on Minnesota roads will begin Wednesday evening and run on the weekends through Dec. 30, the Department of Public Safety said.
Local restaurants and bars are also doing their part to prevent drunk driving. Starting Wednesday, The Happy Gnome in St. Paul will be placing thank you notes on vehicles left overnight in their parking lot for drivers who recognized they had too much to drink to drive home.
DPS says similar thank you notes are being handed out in other cities across the state, including St. Cloud and Rochester, as a way to encourage people to get home safe to their families.
Christmas and Thanksgiving are among the top holidays with the highest percentage of drunk driving-related fatalities in Minnesota, according to the Department of Public Safety. In the last five years, 13 of the 48 people killed in crashes during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holiday periods died from drunk-driving related incidents.