Tarrant County DA: If you drive drunk and get caught, you’re going to jail
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson has a very clear message for those who choose to drink and drive this holiday season.
If you are stopped and your blood alcohol content is above the legal limit, you will go to jail, Wilson said.
“The point is not to drive if you have been drinking,” Wilson said during a news conference Monday that kicked off the No Refusal holiday period.
Developed to crack down on intoxicated drivers, those who are suspected to be impaired will pulled over during the No Refusal period —from 9 p.m. Thursday to 5:30 a..m. Jan. 2 — and ordered by the court to provide a blood sample if they refuse to take a breath test.
Drinking and driving is a serious problem in Texas.
Consider that in 2014:
▪ 1,041 people were killed and 2,328 received serious injuries statewide in DWI-related crashes.
▪ 47 people were killed and 115 received serious injuries in Tarrant County in DWI-related crashes.
▪ 1,624 DWI-related crashes occurred in Tarrant County.
▪ 132 DWI cases were filed against drivers in the 2014-15 no refusal Christmas holiday period by Tarrant County prosecutors, more than a third of whom tested more than double the 0.08 legal limit.
▪ 403 DWI arrests were made statewide by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
Richard Alpert, Tarrant County assistant district attorney and recognized expert in DWI prosecutions, said the No Refusal programs work. If people ban together to keep others with a known problem of drinking and driving, Tarrant County can have a fatality free holiday.
“Forty percent of our fatalities happen during the weekends,” Alpert said.
State DPS and law enforcement officers from across Tarrant County will participate in no refusal holiday enforcement efforts.
The point is not to drive if you have been drinking,
Sharen Wilson
Tarrant County district attorney“Drinking and driving is always a concern during the holidays, and these DPS patrols help by identifying impaired or reckless drivers who endanger the safety of the traveling public,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “We urge Texans to do their part to save lives by always driving sober and adhering to all traffic laws.”
Mitch Mitchell: 817-390-7752, @mitchmitchel3
Safe travel for the holidays
DPS offers the following additional tips for safe travel during the holidays:
- Don't drink and drive. Designate a driver or take a cab.
- Slow down – especially in bad weather, construction areas and heavy traffic.
- Eliminate distractions, including the use of mobile devices.
- Buckle up everyone in the vehicle – it's the law.
- Slow down or move over for police, fire, EMS and Texas Department of Transportation vehicles and tow trucks that are stopped on the side of the road with emergency lights activated – it's the law.
- Don't drive fatigued.
- Drive defensively, as holiday travel may present additional challenges.
- Make sure your vehicle is properly maintained before your trip begins.
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Tarrant County DA: If you drive drunk and get caught, you’re going to jail."