Drunk driving laws are strict in Dallas, Texas. On the surface, these laws seem to make sense given that in Texas, one person is hurt or killed by a drunk driver every 20 minutes, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Individuals found to be driving with a blood alcohol concentration higher than 0.08 are considered legally intoxicated and can be charged with a DWI according to Texas law. The first offense for DWI in Texas includes penalty fines up to $2,000, anywhere from 3 to 180 days in jail, loss of driver’s license up to one year, and an annual fee of anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 to retain a drivers license following the offense. A second offense usually includes fines up to $4,000, jail time ranging from one month to one year in jail, loss of driver’s license up to one year, and an annual license fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.
Yet, recent research suggests that these laws might not actually be targeting the people responsible for causing the greatest harm on the road. A McGill University research study performed by its Addiction Research Program actually found that chronic and repeat drunk driver offenders were actually responsible for most of the accidents and injuries attributed to DWI. This research could have far-reaching implications for how the state and federal government criminalizes and treats DWI offenses.
The research also offers some suggestions for how governments can better handle DWI repeat offenders. The results are shocking in that the suggested method is not punitive. Texas’s current law has highly punitive consequences for DWI.
The research program evaluated two prevention methods for DWI offenders. One group was subjected to a process called “motivational interviewing.” During a motivational interviewing session, individuals were spoken to with empathy in a non-confrontational manner. Emphasis was placed on client responsibility and choice. Individualized feedback was offered and clients were presented with a “menu” of goals and alternatives to drinking and driving. Advice was provided on how clients could change their behaviors, but no assumption was made that clients were ready to make those changes. Self-efficacy on the part of the offender was promoted during this interview style. The other group was presented with information about the risks of DWI and general statistics. The research found that the motivational interviewing group was less likely to drink and drive than the group that had only been provided with statistics and risks.
Another study published in Alcohol and Alcoholism asked why some drivers re-offend and why others don’t. The study found that those who were repeat offenders had biological markers that made them more susceptible to drug or alcohol abuse. This suggests that DWI repeat offense may be more attributable to a disease model than to a model that criminalizes DWI. Finding effective treatment programs that can address drug and alcohol use might be the best preventative measure for repeat offenders. Repeat offenders were also found to be the most responsible for injury or death on the road. Finding adequate treatment programs that address the disease component of alcoholism might be the best means to prevent repeat DWI rather than merely imposing punitive fines and license restrictions.
Texas doesn’t seem to be changing its laws any time soon and current drunk driving penalties, especially for repeat offenders, do not seem to favor a disease model of prevention and treatment. Until the state addresses the research-based causes of DWIs, we can expect to see the current relapse rates.