Support Grows for New Texas DWI Laws

Anti-drunk driving groups hope next legislative session will yield new laws.

Citing public reaction to drunk driving in Texas and a recent headline grabbing accident, advocates for stronger DWI penalties express hope for the coming state legislative session. The goal is to advance two bills that stalled in previous sessions; making ignition interlock devices mandatory for everyone convicted of driving while intoxicated in Texas and legalizing sobriety checkpoints.

A driving culture coupled with one of the largest state populations has left Texas with the highest number of alcohol related fatalities in the nation. Last month a repeat DWI offender killed a newlywed couple in Dallas, focusing attention on the rising number of incidents of drunk driving among Hispanics.

A representative from the American Beverage Institute, an association that represents restaurants and promotes responsible social drinking, said that the trend in legislation is to go after “smaller and smaller groups of responsible adults who are drinking moderately.” The focus has moved away from addressing chronic drinkers at the core of the drunk driving problem to casting a broad net. Reinforcing that view, Austin Texas DWI defense attorney Paul Dunham says there has been a rise in the number of his clients who had a blood alcohol level below the legal limit yet were charged with driving while intoxicated by Austin police.

Texas is one of eleven states that prohibits sobriety checkpoints. Legislation has been proposed over the past 13 years to change the law and bill sponsors are optimistic about their chances in the legislative session. Claiming a need for prevention rather than reaction, legislators are also pushing for a new law mandating ignition interlock devices for everyone found guilty of an alcohol related driving offense. Several states have a similar law, including New Mexico and Illinois, though no studies have been completed showing the benefit of such legislation. Statistically, the overwhelming majority of those charged with DWI never repeat the offense.

Texas is one of 10 states that currently requires ignition interlock devices for repeat offenders though anti-drunk driving advocates feel the devices are not being mandated enough. The law allows judges to sentence offenders to increased jail terms and extended driver’s license suspension as alternatives to an interlock device, which opponents claim are loopholes.

Opponents of the proposed legislation are concerned about personal liberties, especially constitutional protection from search and seizure. Dallas DWI attorney and Texas Criminal Lawyers Association member Randall Isenberg says the “intended benefit (is) outweighed by the potential for abuse and unpredicted and unforeseen consequences.” Isenberg, a former judge, says Texas already has some of the strictest DWI laws in the nation.

Even the Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is not convinced that sobriety checkpoints are the best use of resources. She advocates roving patrols that target areas with increased incidents of drunk driving.

The next Texas General Assembly convenes January 2009.