According to a report by CW33, drunk drivers in Texas are oftentimes repeat offenders. Despite the fact that Texas has adopted some very strict drunk driving laws, many drunk drivers are on the road again soon after being pulled over and sentence and are just as drunk as they were the first time they got pulled over. This problem costs lives, as is detailed in the story.
Interlocks
One of the reasons that law enforcement officers believe that there are so many repeat drunk driver offenders is that Texas has no interlock law. In 16 other states, an ignition interlock is required after the first drunk driving offense. This is a device that analyzes the blood alcohol content of the driver and, if alcohol is present, prevents the car from starting. It’s a simple solution but Texas has yet to adopt it.
Harsh Punishments
One of the things that sometimes make it possible for repeat drunk drivers to offend again and again is if they were arrested on their first offenses before Texas law was changed to take this offense more seriously. This is how some drivers end up committing a shocking number of drunk driving offenses and staying on the road, nonetheless. These drivers sometimes have a very long history of the offenses and seemingly have no intentions of changing their ways.
Social Influences
Drunk driving is not acceptable among most people anymore. It used to be considered socially acceptable and people routinely said things like they were “okay to drive” when they were miles from “okay”. Today, people are likely to try to prevent their friends from driving drunk, but there’s no guarantee that they will succeed in any given instance. After all, unless they’re police officers, they really can’t prevent anyone from doing something if that person wants to badly enough.
Lawyers
One of the options you have if you’ve been injured by a repeat drunk driver is to contact a vehicle accident lawyer. The law may not have caught up with them enough to make them stop, but that has no impact on whether or not you’re owed compensation from someone who caused a wreck in which you were injured or in which your property was destroyed. If you’re interested in talking to an attorney, you’ll find that a car accident lawyer Dallas drivers can use to represent them in any other motor vehicle case will be able to represent you in these cases.