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Figure 1. Portrait of Deputy James Lee. (Source: 12 News)
Deputy James "Jim" Lee
Deputy James "Jim" Lee
James "Jim" Lee was a long time and well respected deputy of Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. He had a wife and child whom he cared for well. Lee was a gentle and kind man who risked his life to keep our community safe from dangerous criminals.
Deputy Lee died three years ago to drunk driver Micheal Miller who lost control of his vehicle.
Micheal Miller served jailtime for a prior DWI conviction in 2014.
Habituation of Intoxicated Driving
Habituation of Intoxicated Driving
After learning about how common DWI accidents and convictions are and hearing personal accounts, I have concluded that drinking while intoxicated has become a habit of many Texans.
Current penalties allow for habitual intoxicated driving. It gives serial drunk drivers too much time before facing serious consequences.
Every minute they are on the road, they are putting innocent Texans in danger.
Figure 2. Breathalizer test (source: CW 39 Houston.)
Figure 3. Car accident scene (source: CNET)
Deadliness of Intoxicated Driving
Deadliness of Intoxicated Driving
It is estimated that 37 people Americans die in drunk driving accidents each day.
A study published in the academic journal Analytical Toxicology found that Texas had 1,329 alcohol impaired deaths in 2018. Texas is “consistently the leading state” for drunk driving traffic fatalities. (Dahl 2018).
Other crimes that can potentially cause injury to others are felonies, so why not DWI?
Promote the DWI Penalty
Promote the DWI Penalty
The current penalty for first and second offenses are misdemeors.
I believe that the base penalty should be promoted to a state jail felony.
Figure 5. BAC levels table (source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Post-mortem BAC Testing
Post-mortem BAC Testing
Post-mortem BAC testing for DWI succpected traffic accidents are state manated.
BAC testing is conducted this way by county medical examiners, but funding, infastructure, and medical examiners are all undersupplied.
I propose to provide greater funding for post-mortem BAC testing for DWI traffic fatalities in the form of state grants.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I believe that raising the penalty for DWI will, even if only partially, restore a sense of security among our people and pressure offenders to change their behavior of driving under the influence. Intoxicated driving is a major problem but it is also preventable with the instatement of my proposed legislation.
Figure 6. Photo of Crocket St. in Downtown Beaumont. (Source: Trey Porter Law)
Works Cited:
Works Cited:
State of Texas Penal Code. 2023. “Chapter 49 Texas Penal Code.” https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/pe/htm/pe.49.htm Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
Brown, Robert W., et al. 1996. “Endogenous Alcohol Prohibition and Drunk Driving.” Southern Economic Journal, vol. 62, no. 4, 1996, pp. 1043–53. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1060947 Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
Rodgers, Corrisa, et al. 2021. “Everything Is Bigger in Texas: Alcohol Impaired Driving in Houston (2014–2018)” Journal of Analytical Toxicology, Volume 45, Issue 7, September 2021, Pages 679–685, https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkaa128 Accessed 14 April 2025.
Dahl, Kevin. 2018. “Vehicle Sobriety Checkpoints in Texas.” A leadership white paper submitted...University Park Police Department. Pages 1-13 https://shsu-ir.tdl.org/items/2e8cbdd7-74da-4f16-bcac-4f550b7149c0 Accessed 14 April 2025.
Pendleton, Ulga et al. 1986. “Alcohol Involvement in Texas Driver Fatalities: Accident Reports Versus Blood Alcohol Concentration.” SAE Transactions, Vol. 95, Section 1 (1986), pp. 268-276. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44721656 Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
Jou, Rong-Chang. 2025. “Determinants for Drunk Driving Recidivism—An Application of the Integrated Prototype Willingness Model” Behavioral Sciences Volume 15, pages 1-48, 2025. DOI 10.3390/bs15010048. https://research-ebsco-com.libproxy.lamar.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=ad8e908b-9fb4-3257-90ea-f5025fa6fe51 Accessed 14 April 2025.
Yao, Ying, et al. 2019. “Classification of Fatigued and Drunk Driving Based on Decision Tree Methods: A Simulator Study” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; Volume 16; Issue 11; Pages: 1935. https://research-ebsco-com.libproxy.lamar.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=f403938c-5792-3321-8608-f730cee28f86 Accessed 5 April 2025.
Walden Troy, et al. 2016. “Blood Alcohol Concentration in Texas: Improving Medical Examiner” Texas A&M Transportation Institute file:///C:/Users/brand/Downloads/Blood%20Alcohol%20Concentration%20in%20Texas%20-%20Improving%20ME%20and%20County%20Performance%20(1).pdf Accessed 14 April 2025.
Picture Sources:
12NewsNow. "Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Mourning Loss of Beloved Deputy After Saturday Night Accident." 12NewsNow, 12NewsNow, 2022. https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/crime/jefferson-county-sheriffs-office-mourning-loss-of-beloved-deputy-after-saturday-night-accident/502-ce8d150a-6253-45b9-a7ba-d7ed001d5a27 Accessed 28 April 2025.
CW39. "Driver Sober, No Regrets Campaign in High Gear Ahead of Labor Day." CW39 Houston, 2023. https://cw39.com/traffic/driver-sober-no-regrets-campaign-in-high-gear-ahead-of-labor-day/. Accessed 28 April 2025.
Conner, Katie. "How Much Car Insurance Coverage Do You Really Need?" CNET, 4 April 2024. https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/insurance/how-much-car-insurance-coverage-do-you-really-need/ Accessed 28 April 2025.
DWI Lawyers Texas. "Beaumont." DWI Lawyers Texas, 2024. https://www.dwilawyerstexas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Beaumont-1024x683.png Accessed 28 April 2025.
The Hull Firm. "Texas DWI Blood Alcohol Content BAC Chart." The Hull Firm, 2021. https://thehullfirm.com/blood-alcohol-content-bac-chart/ Accessed 28 April 2025.
Trey Porter Law. "Beaumont Expungement Lawyer." Trey Porter Law, 2025. https://www.dwilawyerstexas.com/beaumont-expungement-lawyer/ Accessed 28 April 2025.
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