Texas is a very friendly DWI state. We still don't allow DWI checkpoints.
See, no new taxes!
Alcohol and beer giants beware the feds are going to come for you next.,.
Never say never. When I started driving it was perfectly legal to drink alcohol while driving, as long as you weren't drunk. That didn't change until the mid 80's. But change it did.
I'm guessing that the primary consideration is an analysis of the fine revenue rather than road tests of drivers at various BACs.
.05? You won’t even be able to have dinner and a drink with your wife and drive back home unless you weigh 350 pounds.
They should raise it, so that they can concentrate on the more dangerous cases.
When I was younger, I didn’t even know that Texas had DWI, except when related to extreme reckless driving.
I kept a bottle of whiskey available, and a country western 8 track in my front seat, if I got pulled over for swerving or driving too slow, I would swig the whiskey to hide my breath and replace the Hendrix tape with country.
And the American Police State creeps forward on stealthy feet.
Utterly ridiculous. All one has to do, is look at the (true) statistics on drunk driver accidents. Your typical accident-causing drunk has a blood alcohol level of OVER .15....nearly twice the legal limit. Most are over .20, where .30 is (usually) dead by alcohol poisoning. Many also, even after causing a serious accident, get a slap on the wrist....when they should absolutely lose their license.
The only reason states have a .08 level to begin with is NOT the real stats on drunk driving accidents, it is due to lobbying at the federal level by MADD...which made federal highway money unavailable to states with over a .08 limit.
The MADD crowd and this Austin Police chief are simply neo-Prohibitionists, nothing else.
All the cops would have to do to bag their quota is arrest everyone leaving a nice restaurant. I think the electorate would deep six this travesty pretty quickly.
Texas can set the limit to ZERO & it will still not keep the dangerous drunks off the road. They are obviously too drunk to give a damn.
What it will do though is further depress the restaurant/bar business.
The entire DWI thing is a racket. It’s at .08 because of Clinton, but most states have turned it into a cash cow ruining peoples lives in the process and I’m not defending driving drunk BTW. In Florida it’s turned into a cottage industry.
I’d vote for it but, sadly, it won’t pass in Texas.
They (government) want more money. It’s as simple as that. These people have never heard of the law of diminishing returns.
I have some wishes for law enforcement:
Start serving and protecting
You have turned into unmitigated bullies and asses
The Austin police chief is not “Texas officers.” It’s the Austin police chief.
this is probably because of sloppy police work at trial is resulting in dimissials and prosecutors are dealing with piss poor cases.
it is also about generating revenue.
The standard BAC for a drunk driving charge is .08%.
Which is a total scam as it is since .08% is not likely going to make you a less safe driver, merely increase opportunities for state revenue enhancement.
The old .1% standard really didn't make you that unsafe a driver but at least was reasonable cut off in that two beers at dinner wouldn't get you there.
.08 is not even close to drunk for most people
I got an idea:
How about pulling over drivers who exhibit impairment, whether the impairment occurs from drinking, drugs, texting, doing your makeup, reading a book, yakking with your friends on the phone, etc etc etc.
Oh I know it would never happen - it would require actual work. Zero tolerance and checkpoints are much easier.
Yeah, I read about that in the papers almost every day;
funny thing though: most of the drunks are also illegals...
Seems one law doesn't mean any more to them than another.