TJCTC's Blog
A new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that wrong-way driving deaths have risen substantially since 2004. Between 2015 and 2018, an average of 500 people a year died in wrong-way collisions. The study found that alcohol impairment contributed to more than 60% of fatal wrong-way crashes. AAA recommends ignition interlock devices as a preventative measure.
A recent opinion piece speculates about the impact of self-driving cars on impaired driving. Current self-driving car technology is not fully autonomous; a driver is still necessary to safely operate a self-driving car. The opinion piece projects that once self-driving cars are fully autonomous, operating the car will be more like sitting in the back of a car that someone else is driving. Until the technology reaches that point, impaired driving will still be an issue in self-driving cars.
MADD and Ipsos have released a new poll finding that consumers support drunk driving prevention systems in cars. Drunk driving prevention systems include driver monitoring and alcohol detection technologies. The poll found that 8 in 10 people surveyed would support drunk driving prevention systems becoming standard in new cars.
The Houston Chronicle has released a report analyzing impaired driving in Houston. According to the report, Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth are among the deadliest cities in the country for impaired driving accidents. The report discusses repeat offenders, challenges facing law enforcement, and new efforts to curb the effects of impaired driving.
This September, MADD published a new report on public perception of cannabis-impaired driving. To create the report, MADD surveyed more than 1,000 people from across the U.S. on their understanding of how cannabis impacts driving. MADD found that people generally view cannabis-impaired driving as less concerning than alcohol-impaired driving, but 8 in 10 people want more information on how cannabis affects driving. The report also found that people in Colorado, where recreational and medical marijuana use has been allowed under state law for many years, were more likely to be well-informed on the risks of driving after consuming cannabis. You can read the full report here.
The Texas Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office have teamed up to address impaired driving along the Texas-Oklahoma border.
Read this article for more information!
TJCTC’s DWI Bond Condition Program is part of a statewide effort to reduce the incidence of DWI offenses in Texas counties by adopting a comprehensive plan for setting, monitoring, and enforcing bond conditions in DWI cases. The program is free for counties and promotes the use of bond conditions (such as ignition interlock devices) that reduce the incidence of DWI recidivism, increases consistency in setting bond conditions by a magistrate and a trial court, and ensures that bond conditions required by law are properly set, monitored, and enforced.
The program web page includes additional details, including a video about the program and a map that shows all of the counties that are currently expressing interest or participating in the Program. The web page also provides information on how to contacts us if you would like more information or are interested in signing up.
Visit the program web page today!
At a virtual event on August 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) kicked off its Labor Day impaired driving high-visibility enforcement campaign, reminding Americans not to drive impaired.
See NHTSA’s press release for more information about the campaign.
The Faces of Drunk Driving is part of a Texas Department of Transportation public education campaign that highlights “the extensive human toll that drinking and driving can have and provides personal accounts from victims, families and others whose lives have been shattered.”
To visit the Faces of Drunk Driving website, click here.
Click on the links below to read some interesting news articles about how the COVID-19 pandemic has (or has not) impacted the number of DWI arrests in various parts of the state.
Fewer DWI’s in El Paso During COVID-19 Pandemic
DWI Arrests During Pandemic Down 41%, Recent Data Shows
DWI Numbers Rising Quickly as Houston Reopens
DWI Arrests in Austin Doubled the First Weekend Bars Reopened in May, New Data Shows
Despite Pandemic, Drunk Driving Numbers Still Up in North Texas
Pandemic Has Not Stopped DWI Epidemic