Mower County is ahead of the curve when it comes to DWI conviction rates, according to a study done by the Mower County Safe Communities Coalition.

Lynn Spainhower, coordinator for the coalition, said Mower County had a 98 percent DWI conviction rate from January to June of 2011. The statewide DWI conviction average is 73.9 percent of cases.

“We were extremely satisfied with the outcome,” Spainhower said. “It puts us way above the average in the state of Minnesota.”

The study also included information about seatbelt use and speeding convictions. For the first six months of 2011, Mower County held a 99 percent seatbelt conviction rate and 96 percent conviction rate for those accused of speeding.

Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen praised local law enforcement for their part in securing convictions.

“We have excellent law enforcement that’s out there doing a very professional job,” Nelsen said. “They get us a case we can prosecute, and we’re very serious about our prosecutions.

“We know drunk driving kills people, so we take it very seriously.”

The study was funded by a grant through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Spainhower said. The Safe Communities Coalition has requested another round of state funding to complete a full-year of data collection in 2012.

“If we get new grant funding, we’ll do the same court monitoring on speed convictions, as we will now be able to compare 2012 convictions to the 2011 conviction rate,” she said.

Spainhower pointed out that men were “over-involved” in all three categories studied, with 78 percent of the county DWI convictions representing men. Seventy-two percent of seatbelt convictions and 67 percent of speeding convictions represented men, according to Spainhower’s data. The average age of someone being convicted of a DWI was 36 years old.

“The message from this data should be clear,” Spainhower said. “If you choose to drink and drive, not wear your seatbelt or speed, and you are given a citation, you will be convicted and you will pay a hefty fine.”