Kingwood DWI initiative

By STEFANIE THOMAS

Houston Police Department Kingwood officials urge area motorists to put down one of two things: the cocktail, or the car keys.

Effective immediately, HPD Kingwood officers are engaging in an overtime program dedicated to seeking out impaired drivers, said spokesman Officer Dwayne Ulrich.
“The initiative was not necessarily prompted by a surge of drunk driving in the Kingwood area,” Ulrich said. “It’s a concern everywhere, and the Houston Police Department is making a push for DWI enforcement across the city. Harris County leads the nation in alcohol-related vehicle deaths, and Houston leads the county.”

The DWI initiative - a precursor to the upcoming annual HPD March on Crime program, which will also focus on the prevention of building and vehicle burglaries - will last at least until April, with police officers strategically placed around the Kingwood area for the sole purpose of pulling intoxicated motorists off the road.


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“Don’t drink and drive. Have a designated driver,” Ulrich said. “If you drive under the influence, you not only endanger others but yourself as well.”
Texas legislature recently imposed tougher penalties for DWIs. As of Sept. 1, first-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or higher are facing a class A misdemeanor - which carries a fine up to $4,000 and possible jail time of up to one year - instead of the previously customary class B misdemeanor, which is now reserved for first-time offenders with a BAC of 0.08-0.14.

Motorists who think just a drink or two may be okay before getting in the car - think again. According to Chapter 49.01(2)(a) of the Texas Penal Code, intoxication is defined as “not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; OR (b) having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more," meaning that a drunk driver doesn’t necessarily have to meet the 0.08 BAC threshold to be legally considered intoxicated.