DWI Reduction in Texas
DWI Reduction in Texas
by Dave A Vance
April 5, 2009
While laws in Texas have been effective in reducing drunk driving, more needs to be done in order to make roads safer. In a 10 year period, alcohol-related vehicle deaths in Texas dropped nearly 30%, but Texas leads the nation in alcohol-related vehicle fatalities. Are current efforts to combat drunk driving in Texas effective enough to continue the downward trend in DWI fatalities and remove Texas’ title of being the state with the most alcohol-related fatalities?
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reports “Texas is the number one offender when it comes to the number of fatalities where the driver or motorcycle operator was legally intoxicated (i.e. a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or greater). Texas eclipses every other state with 1,292 drunk driving fatalities in 2007” (Holiday 2008 Don’t Drink & Drive Public Education Campaign, 2008, p. 2). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) State Data System Crash Data Report: 1990-1999 (2002), alcohol-related automobile accidents resulting in injuries dropped 27% in Texas. During the same period, alcohol-related crashes resulting in fatalities dropped 30%. In 1999, 25,963 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes and 1,106 people were killed. In 1990, 36,764 people were injured and 1,627 were killed.
Texas law currently defines Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) for adults as having a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. First time adult offenders can expect up to a $2,000 fine, 72 hours to 180 days in jail, and a mandatory 90 days to one year driver’s license suspension (The Law In Texas, para. 4). The Center for the Judiciary (DWI Newsletter January 2008, 2008) states that “Ignition Interlock” devices are considered at the discretion of the Judge as a bond condition or condition of probation in normal DWI cases (para. 25). Ignition interlock devices are mandatory in bond conditions if the offender is charged with intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter (para. 25). The systems are also mandatory as a condition of probation if the offender had a BAC level of 0.15 or higher, charged with intoxication assault, or charged with intoxication manslaughter (para. 25).
While Texas legislators continue to enact stricter laws to combat DWIs, repeat offenders remain a high concern for law enforcement agencies. TxDOT reports that half of all DWI defendants are repeat offenders (Texas Traffic Safety Annual Report – FY 2006, p. 119). Hedlund and Fell (n.d.) conducted a report for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which reports that 36% of drivers convicted of DWIs between 1987 and 1990 were repeat offenders within the previous 10 years (Repeat Offenders and Persistent Drinking Drivers in the U.S., para. 12). Of 352,372 drivers convicted of DWIs, 125,941 were repeat offenders (para. 12).
Repeat DWI offenders face up to a $4,000 fine for a second offense and up to $10,000 for a third offense, 30 days to one year in jail for a second offense and two to 10 years for a third offense, and 180 days to two years driver’s license suspension (The Law In Texas, para. 4). The Texas Center for the Judiciary (2008) states that ignition interlock devices are mandatory as a bond condition or condition of probation in all DWI cases for repeat offenders (para. 25).
While DWI punishment is not as severe for drivers under the age of 21, Texas law provides a zero tolerance policy for minors. Any alcohol consumption by a minor constitutes a DWI. Minors charged with a DWI face up to a $500 fine for the first offense, 60 days driver’s license suspension for first offense and up to 180 days suspension for second and third offenses, 20 to 40 hours community service, and mandatory alcohol-awareness classes (The Law In Texas, para. 7). In addition, minors over the age of 16 can face up to a $2,000 fine and 90 days to one year driver’s license suspension if their BAC is 0.08 or higher (para. 7). Minors over 16-years-old can also face up to 180 days in jail for a third offense (para. 7). All minors charged with a DWI are required to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle (DWI Newsletter January 2008, 2008, para. 25). Llu (2004) reported that “About 24 percent of [15,200 surveyed] seniors in the 2004 survey admitted they had driven a car after having had ‘a good bit to drink’ at least once in the past year.” (p. 72). In a 2008 survey, Llu determined that the percentage of Texas seniors who had driven while drunk had dropped 18% from 1988 to 2008 (Adolescent Substance Use in Texas, p. 4).
Despite Texas DWI conviction rates of 70.2% between January 1996 through October 1998 (Jones, 1999, Figure 2-8) and a 13% increase in DWI arrests from 1997 to 2005 (Texas Department of State Health Services, n.d.), Texas leads the nation in alcohol-related automobile fatalities where the driver is legally intoxicated (Holiday 2008 Don’t Drink & Drive Public Education Campaign, 2008, p. 2). In an effort to reduce DWIs, additional laws being considered in Texas include reinstating sobriety checkpoints (Texas Legislature Online, 2009), requiring ignition interlock devices to be installed on all DWI offender vehicles (Texas House of Representatives, 2009), and requiring breath or blood alcohol tests in more situations (Deuell, 2009). Sobriety checkpoints enable police officers to construct roadblocks in an effort to check randomly for drunk drivers. Ignition interlock devices are installed on vehicles and require the driver to blow into the device before the vehicle will start. The devices check for the presence of alcohol on the person’s breath and will not allow the vehicle to start if alcohol is detected. Current laws in Texas prohibit police officers from forcing drivers to submit to breath or blood alcohol tests without a warrant signed by a judge.
In an addition to laws being used in the effort to curb DWIs, Texas government agencies and independent organizations promote alcohol awareness programs. The Texas Department of State Health Services, The Texas Education Agency, and The Texas Department of Transportation are some of the Texas government agencies that conduct alcohol awareness programs. Many local governments, local companies, and national organizations also aid in the effort to provide alcohol awareness. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is one of the most well-known national organizations that campaigns against drunk driving via public awareness. MADD runs national anti-drunk driving campaigns, operates alcohol awareness programs, lobbies legislators for tougher laws, and provides assistance to victims of drunk drivers. While alcohol awareness programs are required for DWI offenders, the idea of alcohol awareness goes beyond the attempt to help rehabilitate offenders. Alcohol awareness programs are also used to educate the public in order to prevent drunk driving by bringing awareness to legal consequences, personal injury effects, fatality statistics, and emotional repercussions.
The State of Texas has long been known for the slogan “Everything is Bigger in Texas”. Unfortunately, statistics show this is true for Texas DWI fatalities as well. Work continues to be done in the Texas legislature to propose stiffer penalties and enact new laws in an effort to further combat drunk driving. Will lawmakers do enough to shed Texas’ recent reputation of being the state with the most alcohol-related vehicle fatalities before the next DWI statistics report is released? With continued law enforcement, study of effective laws in other states, and better alcohol-awareness education, Texas can continue to decrease drunk driving and hopefully drown the title of being the state to lead the nation in alcohol-related fatalities.
References
Deuell, B. (2009, March 19). Criminal Justice Committee hears Deuell’s DWI bill. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://www.deuell.senate.state.tx.us/pr09/p031909a.htm
Hedlund, J., & Fell, J. (n.d.). Repeat offenders and persistent drinking drivers in the U.S. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/MISC/driving/s21p2.htm
Jones, R.K., Wiliszowski, C.H., & Lacey, J.H. (1999, August). Examination of DWI conviction rate procedures. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/dwiconviction/dwiconvictions.htm#texas
Llu, L. (2004). Texas school survey of substance use among students: Grades 7-12. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Texas Department of State Health Services Web site: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/sa/Research/survey/2004SecondarySchoolSurveyWEBSITE.pdf
Llu, L. (2008). Adolescent substance use in Texas. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Texas Department of State Health Services Web site: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/sa/Research/survey/Adolescent%20Sub%20Use%20in%20Texas%2001_2009.pdf
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2002, July). State data system crash data report: 1990-1999. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NCSA/Content/PDF/809_301.pdf
Texas Center for the Judiciary. (2008, January). DWI Newsletter. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.yourhonor.com/dwi/newsletter/articlesjan08.html
Texas Department of State Health Services. (n.d.). Texas statewide totals. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/research/statistics/statetotals.shtml
Texas Department of State Health Services. (n.d.) Offender Education Program. Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/offendered/default.shtm
Texas Department of Transportation. (2008). Holiday 2008 don’t drink & drive public education campaign. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/library/pubs/cit/holidays/holiday_facts_eng_08.pdf
Texas Department of Transportation. (n.d.). Texas traffic safety annual report – FY 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/whatsup/SAFETEAweb/FY06/ARs/Texas_2006AnnRpt.pdf
Texas Department of Transportation. (2008, January). The law in Texas. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.texasdwi.org/law.html
Texas House of Representatives. (2009, February 9). Callegari measure mandates ignition interlocks for DWI offenders. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://www.house.state.tx.us/news/release.php?id=2508
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