Driving drunk, a
costly mistake
By Dawn Lassiter
Contributing Writer
Mayor kicks off 3-week awareness program
on the consequences of DWI/DUI
In conjunction with Student Programs and Resources
(SPAR) Phi Theta Kappa, North Lake’s International
Honor Society, a three- week comprehensive program
began Sept. 20 on drinking and driving.
The program is designed to bring attention to
the consequences than the taking of a life, the
highest cost of that choice. The ramp wall in
the A building holds a display of photo exhibits
that show the destructive costs of a person’s
decision to drive after drinking alcohol.
The wall directly opposite to the bookstore is
dedicated to Jackie, a young college student whose
life has been forever altered by a drunk driver.
The wall at a right angle from Jackie’s
wall is dedicated to Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
police officers that have lost their lives in
the line of duty.
Every year, drunk drivers kill approximately
17,000 people on American highways.
Driving while intoxicated, or a DWI offense,
carries serious consequences, according to the
State of Texas Laws and Penal Code. The first
offense is a class-B misdemeanor. Punishment can
include 3 to 180 days in the county jail, fines
up to $2,000, $170 to get a vehicle out of impoundment,
plus $16 per day after a 24-hour period of impoundment,
cost of towing, and $500 to bond out of jail.
In addition, Officer Steve Burres of the Irving
Police Department said there can be an administrative
license suspension invoked immediately after arrest.
The cost to reinstate a driver’s license
after a DWI/DUI conviction is a minimum of $1,000
per year for three years, dependent on the number
of previous convictions of an offender.
Insurance companies have the right to increase
insurance premiums up to 300 percent following
a conviction. With additional attorney fees, the
final cost for a first-time offender averages
more than $10,000.
Repeat offenders and the “super drunks”
– those with a blood alcohol level of 0.15
or greater – may be required to install
ignition interlock equipment on their steering
wheels at a cost of $450 for six months. The devices
will disable the ignition if a driver has been
drinking.
Blood alcohol content, or BAC of 0.079 percent
is the legal limit in the state of Texas, and
0.08 percent or higher is considered to be “under
the influence.”
It costs $50 for a taxi from Dallas to Fort Worth.
Designated drivers cost even less, the price of
a soda. Drinking and driving does not always end
a life.
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