Texas may put the brakes on stricter drunken-driving laws

AUSTIN — Efforts to enact tougher drunken driving laws face roadblocks in a state that has historically been reluctant to mess with its drivers.
Texas is consistently among the states with the highest rates of drunken driving-related fatalities and lacks laws that most other states have, such as allowing for sobriety checkpoints. Lawmakers and advocates agree that something needs to be done to reduce the fatality rates, but constitutional and ideological issues may bring such proposals to a halt in the Legislature this year
Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/dGwvCC

Cowboys Stadium post-game drives

Hoppe:
Legislators looking into the state's drunk driving laws pointed their flashlight into the face of Arlington Deputy Police Chief Loretta Hill, asking pointed questions about how carefully Cowboy Stadium patrons are checked for possible intoxication after the games.


Hill was in Austin to testify and ask lawmakers to give the police more tools in preventing drunk driving. She mentioned that one of her baliwicks was special events and "Jerry World," prompting Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to ask questions about post-game interviews between fans and police. He was curious because a drunk driver leaving an Astros game recently was involved in a Houston tragedy.
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Texas legislators explore changes to 'broken' drunken-driving enforcement

Hoppe reports:

AUSTIN – The state's system for battling drunken driving is in disarray, lawmakers and local officials lamented Thursday, as heavy-handed punishment laws overwhelm courts, thwart treatment and do little to prevent alcoholics from returning to the streets.
In testimony before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, an array of experts from judges to victims agreed that the state needs a smarter, more streamlined system to remove Texas as the nation's leader in alcohol-fueled traffic deaths.
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