DWI Law Change Goes into Effect August 1st

Under the current DWI law, someone convicted of a DWI while operating a highway licensed vehicle could still operate ATVs, motorboats, and snowmobiles, but that will change tomorrow, August 1st.

Now under Little Alan’s law, anyone convicted of a DWI will be prohibited from operating any motor vehicle including ATVs, motorboats, and snowmobiles. The state Legislature passed the law following the death of 8-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter, Jr., who died in January after being struck by a snowmobile driven by a man whose driver’s license was revoked after multiple DWI offenses.

The changes only apply to violations that happen on or after August 1st.

“We have zero tolerance for people who endanger themselves and other people by operating a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle while they’re intoxicated,” Col. Rodmen Smith, director of the Minnesota DNR Enforcement Division, said in a release by the DNR. “This new law should send the message that drinking and driving – no matter what the vehicle – isn’t acceptable and the consequences are severe.”