Nearly 700 DWI Arrests In First Half Of December

ST. PAUL (AP)  -- The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says 675 motorists have been arrested for drunken driving in the first half of December.

The arrests are part of a month-long enforcement campaign that's going on statewide. In all, 400 agencies are conducting increased DWI patrols through New Year's Eve. The preliminary results released Wednesday are from 170 agencies.

The enforcement campaign is coordinated by DPS's Office of Traffic Safety and it's supported by $350,000 in federal funding, to cover 7,000 extra hours of enforcement.

In Decembers from 2007 through 2009, there were 34 alcohol-related traffic deaths in Minnesota.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)