• 13
  • August
    2010

In recent DWI-related news, the House Public Safety Committee heard arguments from both opponents and proponents of the Texas Driver Responsibility Program earlier this week.

Started in 2004, the Texas Driver Responsibility Program is designed to discourage certain types of vehicular offenses by levying large additional fines (referred to as surcharges) against those found guilty. Targeted offenses include DWI and speeding in excess of 10 miles-per-hour over the speed limit.

To illustrate, those convicted of a first offense DWI must pay a surcharge of $1000 a year for three years. If the person had a blood alcohol content that was double the legal limit, the surcharge rises to $2000 a year.

The funds gathered through the Texas Driver Responsibility Program are supposed to be used to fund highway projects and emergency room/trauma care. However, the program has not been a resounding success. Emergency rooms/trauma centers have only received a portion of the intended funds ($75 million) while highways projects have received no funds whatsoever.

In addition, over 60 percent of those ordered to pay surcharges (1.2 million motorists) have failed to do so. This amounts to more than $1.1 billion owed to the state.

Ana Yanez-Correa, executive director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition informed the House committee that the program was both ineffective and perhaps overly punitive.

"There are 1.2 million Texas drivers who have lost the ability to have a driver's license and to buy insurance. And there is zero evidence to show that this program has improved public safety and the behavior of drivers in this state," she said.

Her group is lobbying for the cancellation of the program.

However, proponents of the program argued that its cancellation would mean the loss of valuable funds that hospitals rely on to run their trauma centers.

"If these funds dry up ... the quality of trauma centers in Texas would be at risk," said Christopher Ziebell, medical director of Austin's Brackenridge Hospital Emergency Center.

While the ultimate fate of the Texas Driver Responsibility Program has yet to be determined, lawmakers have other options to consider in lieu of its cancellation, including provisions requiring the indigent to pay less.

Stay tuned for further developments ...  

Related Resources:

• Driver Responsibility Program Under Fire in Texas Legislature (Dallas Morning News)