A busy holiday weekend is coming up, so on Tuesday law enforcement agencies across the state announced a new initiative to keep drivers safe.
The group unveiled their plan on the south steps at the State Capitol. It is the first ever of its kind in the nation -- a statewide no-refusal weekend.
Experts say the Fourth of July weekend is one of the deadliest holiday weekends on Texas roads.
A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association shows that over the past 25 years about half of the crashes over the holiday involve alcohol.
Last year in Texas alone, officers responded to 337 crashes over a three-day time span. This year, the state is stepping up enforcement. Agencies are dispatching additional officers to the road searching for suspected drunk drivers. In participating counties, they will not take "no" for an answer.
More than 200 agencies are implementing no-refusal policies.
“We would rather arrest less drunks and have less fatality accidents than anything in the world,” said Chief Bill Waybourn of the Dalworthington Gardens Police Department. “We know that we can't prophesize a great deal, but we know that there will be 1,000 Texans killed this year by DWI, and we know that if we can reduce that to just one then it's worth the effort.”
Agencies announced grant dollars will be used to cover the majority of expense in overtime to get more officers and troopers on the road.
Anyone who is pulled over for suspected drunk driving will have to either submit to a breath test or have their blood drawn. Officials say it takes as little as 15 minutes to secure a warrant for a blood draw and five minutes after that to get the blood drawn.
Along with extra patrol on the road, there will also be additional enforcement on the water all across the state enforcing no refusal.
