Friday, August 31, 2001

New Texas alcohol laws take effect at midnight
James Zwilling
staff reporter

Motor vehicle passengers in Texas will no longer be able to have open containers of alcohol in their possession begining midnight tonight.

The new legislation passed by members of the 77th Texas Legislature earlier this year makes the offense a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $20 or less.

Current Texas law states that it is legal for passengers to have open containers in vehicles as long as they are not in reach of the driver.

The new legislation also requires repeat DWI offenders to install a deep-lung breath analysis device that detects alcohol on the driver’s breath. If alcohol is detected, the vehicle will not operate.

Among other provisions, the bill increases the length of driver’s license suspensions for repeat DWI offenders, prohibits juries from recommending that repeat offenders licenses not be suspended and requires a one-year waiting period for repeat offenders’ wishing to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

The changes to the open container laws were proposed following a federal mandate requiring states to enact laws that meet federal requirements for both repeat DWI offenders and open container laws.

Sparkle Greenham, TCU Alcohol and Drug Education Center program specialist, said she feels the new open container and DWI laws will help bring Texas up to the standards that more than 30 other states have already adopted.

“Texas has made great strides in the last few years by lowering the legal blood alcohol content levels,” Greenham said. “Hopefully, these laws will continue that progress.”

States failing to enact or not enforcing an open container law or laws pertaining to repeat DWI offenders would be forced to divert 1.5 percent of its federal highway funds for use in traffic safety programs. The percentage would double Oct. 1, 2002.

Prior to the 77th Texas Legislature, Texas was not in compliance with federal law and risked losing highway construction funds for projects to ease congestion and enhance mobility on highways. The new law brings Texas into compliance.

Bill Lewis, the public policy laison for the Texas chapter of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, said that although these laws are steps in the right direction for the state, work still needs to be done.

“One of the things that drives our support for these bills is that Texas is the worst state when it comes to the number of deaths caused by drunk driving,” Lewis said. “Drunk driving is not really rocket science or some big philosophical debate — it’s simply just better not to drink and drive.”

M.A.D.D.’s most recent statistics reported 1,734 alcohol related deaths in 1999, 383 more than the second most fatal state, California.

Lewis said if Texas wants to make a commitment to keeping drunk drivers off the street, it will need to look at other options like random drunk driving checkpoints.

“Until we start using check points, we will not be able to keep drunk drivers off of our roadways,” Lewis said.

More than 40 states use random police checkpoints, but Texas has so far failed to pass such legislation, Lewis said.

For more information about this law or any other new laws taking effect Saturday, visit (http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/capitol.htm).

James Zwilling
j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu