Last year Bexar County D.A. Susan Reed “delivered a strong message” against driving while intoxicated, according to Kens5News. This included the implementation of a “no-refusal” policy in San Antonio, meaning that drivers who were suspected of drunk diving would no longer have the option of refusing a Breathalyzer test. According to the D.A.’s office, deaths caused by intoxication are down in 2012 compared to previous years. Yet that doesn’t mean that San Antonio is out of the dark when it comes to DWIs. Matt Porter of the SAPD told Kens5News that as of mid-December “we’ve had over 6,300 arrests for DWI in San Antonio this year.”
The law included a provision that suspected drunken drivers who refuse a breath test in Bexar County are no subject to a mandatory blood draw every day of the year, according to MySanAntonio.com. It was passed with a $1.4 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation. According to MySanAntonio, when the law was first passed, the number of intoxication manslaughter cases dropped significantly from 2009 to 2011—from 13 to six.
According to National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration statistics, 31 percent of all people who were killed in traffic crashes in 2010 died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. There were 38,648 fatal crashes across the country in 2006, and 17,941 of these were alcohol-related—meaning that 46 percent of all fatal crashes were alcohol-related this year, representing a significant drop over the next four years.
A DWI charge in Texas carries high fines and possible jail time—especially if someone has been injured in a DWI crash. If you or someone you know is facing charges such as these, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated San Antonio criminal defense attorney today.