It's amazing to me that the Legislature would rather give up federal funds than pass some laws to toughen drunk driving penalties. Let's see... passing the laws has the potential to save lives, make our roadways safer and keep the State from losing Federal Highway Funds. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I think part of the problem is that despite all the years of education from organizations like MADD, some folks still think of Drunk Driving as not that big of a deal. ------------------
Lowering the BAC would actually increase the number of alcohol related deaths if it is used statistically to determine a dead person's impairment. The lower value increases the likelihood that a dead person would be considered impaired. While it may take some drivers off the road, it would not compensate for the statistics it created. Lowering BAC may actually cause Texas to lose funds. One of those Catch 22's. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Except that it doesn't appear from this article that the funds are based on the percentage of traffic deaths, but on the specific laws. Pass a law making open containers illegal, get more Federal Funds. Pass a law increasing the punishments for repeat offenders, get more Federal Funds. While the percentage of alcohol-related traffic deaths is high, the article seems to say that the money is contingent on specific laws, etc. rather than on the actual percentage of alcohol-related deaths. ------------------
PhySlammaJamma, I don't think the BAC is the sole criteria for determining whether an accident is related to alcohol. There are other factors that could show alcohol to be a factor. I know you know this, but the person killed isn't always the one drinking. In fact, being drunk has helped people survive accidents. Far too often, it's people who weren't drinking that are injured or killed by a drunk driver. ------------------ Stay Cool...
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/topstory/667959 Sept. 14, 2000, 10:53AM State losing $96 million in highway funds AUSTIN (AP) -- Texas leads the nation in alcohol-related traffic deaths and will lose $96 million in federal highway construction funds over the next two years because state law is not tough enough on drunken drivers, a state official says. Mark Cross, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, said federal law requires the state to divert the money from construction to traffic-safety efforts because Texas doesn't ban open containers of alcohol in vehicles or automatically jail repeat drunken drivers. "It's money that we would have used for construction and traffic congestion and mobility" projects, Cross told The Dallas Morning News in today's editions. State Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, who has tried five times to pass legislation banning open containers in vehicles, said he would try again when the Legislature convenes in January. But it won't be easy to overcome what he called traditional opposition from the liquor industry and from lawyers who defend people charged in drunken driving. "We have an element in the Legislature that thinks it is an inalienable right of a Texan to drink a beer on the way home from work and throw the empty in the back of a pickup truck," Hill said. "Every time the Texas Legislature fails to pass this, people die." Fifteen other states also will lose some of their federal highway construction funds by Oct. 1 under a 1998 federal law that holds back the money unless states ban open containers of alcohol and strongly punish people who are convicted of drunken driving more than once. Texas will lose the most, however, at $48 million a year and the federal penalty soon will escalate to $80 million a year, Hill said. Instead of road construction, the money can still be used for road-safety projects such as widening intersections. "It doesn't mean the money won't go to the state of Texas," Hill said. "It means that we will be capable of developing the best billboard campaign against drunk driving in the world. But we will not be addressing the problem of getting drunk drivers off the road." Texas leads the nation in alcohol-related traffic deaths. In 1999, Texas had 1,734 alcohol-related traffic fatalities, about half of all driving deaths in the state that year, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation. California, a more populous state, was second with 1,351 alcohol-related driving fatalities, representing about 38 percent of all driving deaths in that state. Nationwide, about 38 percent of all traffic deaths are alcohol-related, according to federal figures. "Texas is way above the curve and has been that way for years," said Bill Lewis, legislative analyst for the Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "Texas is not just a bit worse, it's a lot worse." Lewis said MADD will make passage of an open container ban one of its top priorities in the next legislative session. Under Texas law, police can cite drivers for possessing an open container of alcohol only if they witness the driver drinking from it. With regard to repeat drunken-driving offenders, state law provides for up to a year in jail, fines up to $4,000 and suspension of a license for 180 days to two years. That does not meet the federal standard, which requires a license to be suspended for not less than one year and requires imprisonment for at least five years. In 1999, lawmakers did pass one measure cracking down on drunken driving by lowering the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.10 to 0.08. That move brought the state a total of $23 million in extra highway construction funds for this year and last, state officials said. ------------------ Stay Cool...
Why do you think the legislature has such a tough time passing laws against drunk driving -- especially when our laws are below the national standard, and we lead the nation in alcohol related deaths? Do you agree with Rep. Hill, that we have a section of the community that thinks "it is an inalienable right of a Texan to drink a beer on the way home from work and throw the empty in the back of a pickup truck"? Is it more an example of the Texan need for independence -- the same process that causes people to say, "No one's going to tell me to wear a seatbelt," or "I don't need a motorcycle helmet?" ------------------ Stay Cool...
