The Garland Police Department announced that Driving While Intoxicated (DWI patrols) will be stepped up beginning Thursday, March 7. The increase will last through Sunday, March 24.
Colleges and public schools are getting ready for spring break and students are looking forward to a fun vacation from school. However, the students of driving age should remember that what often begins as a simple, fun outing can become tragic when alcohol is involved. It is never a good decision to drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, as it can always end in an unexpected and severe accident.
The increased patrols are a part of a TXDOT grant program that targets Driving Under the Influence by minors and DWIs. The extra patrols will be in both marked and unmarked cars, and they will be active at night.
DWI offenders who are convicted for the first time can face large fines, lose their driver’s license for as much as a year and serve six months in jail.
According to safety officials, the financial consequences associated with a conviction can add up to $17,000, which includes bail, court appearances, court-ordered classes, legal fees, car insurance premium increases and other miscellaneous costs.
Almost 1,200 fatality crashes involving DUIs were reported to TxDOT in 2022.
Facts from www.cdc.gov:
- Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the state’s legal limit are considered alcohol-impaired by law.
- More than 10,000 people in the United States die each year in crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.
- Because of dedicated efforts, rates of alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-impaired fatal crashes in the United States have gone down since the 1980s.
- Still, alcohol-impaired drivers get behind the wheel millions of times each year. ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVING DEATH RATES BY AGE Deaths in crashes involving a driver with BAC ≥ 0.08%. Source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
KEEP TEXAS SAFE – Keep alcohol-impaired drivers off the road.
Let’s work together to help #EndTheStreak