On September 1, 2011, a new law went into effect in Texas that provides enhanced penalties in some DWI cases. When authorities find that drivers caught for DWI (driving while intoxicated) have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of at least 0.15%, the possible punishment is twice as severe as under the old law.
Problems in greater Houston served as a major impetus for this new DWI law and its stiffer penalties. Tests found that the drivers involved in approximately 70% of fatal Houston road accidents in 2008 had BACs of at least 0.16%. That’s twice the legal limit. And that drunkenness was killing people on Houston roads at an astonishing rate.
Critics complained that the existing laws of the time had provided no difference in punishment for DWI offenders with BACs just over the legal limit and those with BACs hugely over the legal limit – enough to cause fatal DWI wrecks. The old law provided that a DWI first offender, even if their BAC was more than twice the legal limit, only received charges of a Class B misdemeanor. A Class B misdemeanor provides a fine of up to $2,000 and jail time of up to six months.
Under the new law that just went into effect, a DWI offender with a BAC of 0.15% or more will receive charges of a Class A misdemeanor, even if it’s the first offense. A Class A misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $4,000 and jail time of up to one year.
So penalties have doubled for those caught driving with a high BAC. Arguably, these penalties still aren’t high enough to make a real dent in the drunk driving problem in Texas. A biker in Katy, TX still retains a higher than average probability of suffering a motorcycle wreck and terrible injuries caused by a drunk driver.
Texas currently suffers the highest rate of fatal DWI wrecks of any state. And Harris County suffers the highest rate of fatal DWI wrecks in Texas. Only time will tell if the new DWI law helps reduce these rates.