Drunk Driving Laws in Texas

Drunk driving is referred in technical terms as driving under influence (DUI) or Driving with influence (DWI). This means that a driver is operating a motor vehicle while having a traceable amount of alcohol in their body system. If a death involves a person that has consumed any amount of alcohol either as a driver, passenger or pedestrian, it is classified as an alcohol related death.

In Texas, the law is very clear on drunk driving.

There is a zero tolerance policy on any incident involving drunk driving whether the culprit is below or above the legal limit to drink. It is in place to ensure that there are severe penalties in place to deal with the issue.

If under 21, it is illegal to have any amount of alcohol while driving. Adults over 21 years are allowed a legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol content. Blood alcohol content (or blood alcohol concentration), abbreviated BAC, is the concentration of alcohol in blood, measured, by volume, as a percentage. For example, a BAC rating of 0.20 means 1 part per 500 in an individual’s blood is alcohol.

The law also prohibits any unsealed alcohol containers in the motor vehicle and states that the arresting officer does not have to witness the actual drinking to make an arrest. That notwithstanding, if an officer asks a driver to take a breath or blood test to determine the BAC, the driver must comply or have his license immediately suspended for 6 months.

Penalties for drunk driving vary depending mainly on the number of offences, BAC and age. These are more stringent for repeat offenders with high BACs and are pretty strict on underage drunk drivers. Fines start at $2000 which may be combined with license suspension and jail time depending on the severity of the offense. Underage drivers are ordered to attend alcohol awareness programs, provide community service, pay fines and may have their licenses suspended for a period of time.

Awareness has increased in the last decade due to increased alcohol related deaths, advertising campaigns targeted at having designated drivers that are not drunk and activist groups such as Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD). It has also helped that legal drinking age was raised to 21 years and measures have been taken to prevent people under 21 from obtaining alcohol such as the ID requirement in alcohol stores. Recent years have also seen the BAC lowered from 0.10 to 0.08

All these measures may have may have contributed to a decline in alcohol related deaths in the last ten years and there is optimism that this trend will continue.

ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS AS A PERCENT OF ALL CRASH DEATHS, 1995-2004

1995 42% 2000 41%
1996 42% 2001 41%
1997 40% 2002 41%
1998 40% 2003 40%
1999 40% 2004 39%

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.