Texas Drunk Drivers: It’s “No Refusal” Weekend

According to an article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Assistant District Attorney Richard Alpert, says that Tarrant County’s relatively new “No Refusal” campaign is incarcerating more DWI drivers, deterring others from drinking and driving, and making our roads safer. I just had the pleasure of meeting Richard on a case I’m working on and he is superlative at his job.

The photo is from another DWI crash case I’m working on. Unfortunately I am representing far too many people and their families to recover their damages for their medical bills, lost wages, property, and pain and suffering.

Blood or breath test results that now scientifically prove the defendant’s intoxication level have led to more guilty pleas and convictions as well as a decrease in the number of traffic fatalities and injuries over the holidays.

In its first five years, the No Refusal program was only used on the July Fourth and New Year’s holiday weekends, but this year it was expanded to six holiday and the Super Bowl weekends.

For the first time, police officers can now get a search warrant to get a sample of the suspected drunk driver’s blood if he refuses a breathalyzer test. Prosecutors, judges and nurses will be working through the night to sign search warrants for the blood draws and to take blood.

The Law In Texas

A first offense of DWI is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours. If it is proven that the driver had an open container of alcohol in his possession, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum term of confinement of six days. If it is shown that the driver’s blood, breath, or urine showed an alcohol concentration level of 0.15 or more at the time the analysis was performed, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

The Labor Day campaign starts at 8:00 p.m. Friday and ends at 4:00 a.m. Monday.

Please contact my office if you have been involved in an alcohol or drug-caused collision, or a wreck caused by any negligent driver, at 817-885-8000 or 1-888-801-8595 or email legalassistant@berensonlaw.com. We’ll fight to get you the money you deserve.

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