The Austin Police Department is making it's no refusal DWI initiative a year-round thing.
Data from the state Department of Transportation shows that the city of Austin had nearly 1,000 alcohol-related crashes last year. There were also an average of 89 Texans killed every month in alcohol-related crashes.
Previously, the initiative run during specific events that were higher risk to drunk driving like holiday weekends or school and university breaks. The initiative will now go on year-round every day between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Matt Mackowiak with "Save Austin Now" said there's no reason for someone to drive while impaired and this initiative becoming an all day, every day thing is a good idea.
"Instead of it being a situation where maybe people would of been more careful when these initiatives were announced or perhaps during a holiday weekend, it's now going to be year-round," he said.
APD sees drunk driving as an increasing risk in the city with the potential for more speeding infractions and traffic fatalities. Austin has a vibrant nightlife and tens of thousands of students close by at UT-Austin and even Texas State just down the road who add to the number of people who may come through the city.
"This is a way to try and bring those statistics down," Mackowiak said. "You would hope that it would lead to more people utilizing readily available rideshare options."
Officers use two different ways to measure blood alcohol content. One is blowing into a tube while the other is taking a blood sample. Mackowiak said officers are more likely to take a blood sample due to the variability with tubes and how hard people blow to try and get a lower reading.
"A blood sample is not going to have that problem and my understanding is that that's why law enforcement is utilizing that option in a more prevalent way in recent years," said Mackowiak.
Multiple other Texas cities already implement a year-round no-refusal type of initiative with Mission, Texas being one of the more recent cities in November of 2023. Dallas and Fort Worth switched to a year-round no-refusal initiative in 2020 and San Antonio implemented theirs permanently in 2011.
According to Forbes, Texas ranked as the third-worst state for drunk driving in 2023.