Reader’s Question:

My sister has a DUI conviction here in Texas. Part of her concern is her auto insurance. What will happen to her car insurance and does she have to disclose her DUI conviction to her insurance company?

Sandy

Abilene, TX

The insurance company would find out about your sister’s DUI conviction in Texas sooner or later. If she is ready to get her license back, she needs to get an SR22 form. This is a certificate of insurance that shows the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) proof of insurance. SR22 is a motor vehicle liability insurance which requires the insurance company to certify coverage to DPS. Her insurance company must notify DPS anytime the policy is cancelled, terminated or lapses.

Having a DUI charge could prompt any insurance company to increase the premium rates. From an insurance company’s perspective, your sister has a higher probability of being in another incident of DUI. Worse thing could happen because due to a much higher risk that the insurance company would have to take, they may simply opt to completely drop her insurance.

In case this happens, your sister can avail of the policies with the lowest rates by first looking around. She can shop online for the different rates and coverage offered, and see which one will serve her needs the best.

Tags: insurance, SR22 insurance

Reader’s Question:

My father mentioned to me that Texas has increased its fines for DWI arrest or that it passed a “Surcharge” for individuals convicted of DWI? How does it work and is this some type of a fine?

Melody

Dallas, Texas

Thanks for asking Melody. Contrary to media reports, the 78TH Texas Legislature did not increase DWI fines. However, the Legislature did pass an administrative fee or also called a “Surcharge” under a law known as the “Driver Responsibility Act”, which started on September 1, 2003. Under this law the fees are strictly administrative in nature, and are above and beyond, any fines, court costs, probation fees or filing fees that the Texas State already receives in a DWI case. The law basically requires any person convicted after September 1, 2003 of a first DWI arrest to pay the State of Texas a “DPS” Department of Public Safety surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years as a condition to maintaining his license; or any person convicted of a second DWI arrest to pay the State of Texas a “surcharge” of $1,500 per year within a 36 month period to keep their drivers license; or any person convicted a DWI arrest, that has a blood or breath test result of .16 or higher, to pay $2,000 per year for three years to maintain their drivers license.

These fees are paid to the Department of Public Safety and failure of payment within the designated time allowed or entering into an installment payout agreement, the person will automatically lose their driver’s license or the privilege to obtain a driver’s license until the money is paid.

Department of Public Safety will assess a surcharge when the driver accumulates a total of six points or more on their record during a three-year period. The driver must then pay a $100 surcharge for the first six points and $25 for each additional point.

Reader’s Question:

Back in 2000 I was convicted and had a DWI arrest. At that time, I lost my case and had to go through a lot of consequences. I believe that if I had chosen the right DWI lawyer, I may have won my case. How do I know if I had made the right decision of choosing a DWI lawyer? What are the strategies of the best DWI lawyer in Texas?

Kevin

Garland, Texas

Sorry to hear about your previous experience with a DWI arrest, Kevin. In Texas, you can find the best and reputable DWI lawyer by checking their case history. How well do they handle their clients and how many case have they won? There are important questions any DWI defense attorney should ask and that includes:

Did the arresting officers have the necessary probable cause required to pull you over in the first place?
Were field sobriety tests administered properly?
Was the breathalyzer functioning correctly?
How was the machine calibrated?
Were proper arrest procedures followed?
Was a blood test taken, and if so, how was that evidence handled and then later analyzed?

Although there are a number of potentially effective strategies on how to defend someone against a DWI arrest. The number one strategy for avoiding a DWI conviction has nothing to do with anything any attorney can do for you. Instead, it has everything to do with the care you take in choosing that DWI attorney. Your attorney has to put in extra time and effort to stay up-to-date and knowledgeable about the latest techniques and approaches to a DWI defense.

Reader’s Question:

I have heard that taking breath mints or mouthwash can interfere or fool/fake the results of breath test. I’m wondering because I heard my officemate was arrested for DWI last night in Texas and his friends were saying that he should have took a mint. Is that true?

Diane

Brownsville, Texas

Thanks for asking. No Diane, mints and mouthwash can just mask the odor from the mouth but it will not interfere the amount of alcohol in your mouth once you take the breath test in Texas. Proper and correct breath test procedure requires that the subject should have nothing in their mouth for 10 to 15 minutes before testing. If the person had taken anything with alcohol in their mouth just before the testing, the alcohol in their mouth will contaminate the test, giving an artificially high result. However, 15 minutes is adequate time for all the alcohol in the mouth to be dissipated.

It is a bit easier to fake a drug test than a breath alcohol test. In a proper drug test procedure, it should eliminate the possibilities of the subject switching their urine sample with another subject, or tampering with the specimen. Drinking large volumes of water may also dilute the urine, therefore reducing the concentrations of drugs in the urine. The detection of some drugs in the urine, such as amphetamines, is affected by the pH of the urine with some kinds of procedures. However, a properly administered breath alcohol test is difficult to fake. As long as the subject blows an adequate deep lung breath, there is no possible way to fool the concentration of the alcohol from the mouth.

Reader’s Question:

My brother was charged with DUI here in Texas. I want to help him as much as I could. Can we be able to beat this charge? I also want to know if we can be able to get a plea bargain.

Craig

El Paso, TX

I have to be honest that most Texas DUI charges are difficult to beat and it will cost a lot more to fight than to make a deal. The law enforcement authorities usually do a good job and the hard truth is most defendants are guilty of the DUI charges. However, police officers sometimes slip up. They may not have had a good reason to stop your brother’s car. They may not have had enough evidence to require a blood alcohol content (BAC) test. They might have done the tests wrong as well. Your brother may have credible witnesses who can say he was not intoxicated. A good DUI lawyer in Texas can review these issues with your brother and give him better answers.

Regarding your concern about plea bargain, usually a good DUI lawyer can get a first DUI charge reduced. But sometimes, it is more difficult to reduce a DUI if the BAC is particularly high. The individual prosecutor might have a set number in mind. For some of them, that means over 0.15 percent. For the others, it may be 0.18 or 0.20 percent. But others would agree to a plea bargain regardless of the BAC. The other factors that may prevent a plea bargain would be if the charge arose out of a serious accident, if the defendant has a criminal record, or if it is not the first DUI offense. In these cases, a good DUI lawyer may be able to get a reduction later if they can find any weakness in the prosecution’s case. It can be possible to get a reduction even with a high BAC if the defendant get a substance abuse evaluation and comply with the treatment recommendations from the evaluation.

Reader’s Question:

I don’t know how to stop my husband from drinking alcohol every weekend and then driving himself home. He seems lucky that he has never been charged with DUI. I don’t know what to tell him anymore. What is the best advice that you could give me for my husband to avoid being caught drunk driving here in Texas?

Rachel

Garland, TX

We all know that drinking and driving is a terrible idea, especially if you get caught as you will be facing a lot more terrible consequences. And of course, the more you do it, the more likely you are going to get caught and/or kill yourself or someone else. In fact drinking and driving has become so serious that not everyone can get away from it.

The first advice that I can give you for your husband to avoid being caught drunk driving in Texas is for you to tell him not to drink and drive at all. Not drinking and driving is the only hundred percent guaranteed way of avoiding a potentially life-altering DUI charge. But if he really can’t avoid it, there are several things that he can do.

You husband can designate a driver who will avoid all alcohol. In any situation, be it may on a bar or club or at people’s houses, he should aim to have a designated driver present. But having a designated driver may not be that realistic depending on what he and his friends may be like. If this may not work or impossible to do, he can just leave his car home. Instead, he can try using public transportation if it is available in your area or he can employ the services of a taxi company. If he is going to an event with a large number of people, they can hire a van or bus instead as this can be cheaper for larger groups than hiring a load of cabs.

The things mentioned are just some advices you can tell your husband but I just have to give emphasis on the fact that the only absolute way to avoid a DUI charge is not to drink and drive.

Reader’s Question:

Three days ago, I was stopped for drunk driving suspicion here in North Texas. I was asked to take a breath test but I refused to do so. Because of that, the officer forced to draw blood sample from me instead, saying that I cannot refuse because of the ‘no refusal’ Texas DWI policy. Is this legal?

Yasmine

Dallas, TX

A lot of people have raised concerns about the ‘no refusal’ Texas DWI policy. Law enforcement agencies in North Texas have actually increasingly used this kind of policy that has police officers drawing blood samples from motorists suspected of driving while intoxicated. Arresting officers do this when the driver suspected of drunk driving refuses to take a breath test.

Your Texas DWI lawyer may use the defense that the Texas Transportation Code requires that only physicians, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, chemists or professional technicians to draw blood for criminal prosecution. Even phlebotomists or emergency medical personnel are excluded by the law to draw a blood sample. Blood samples associated with a crime must be handled and processed in specific ways due to the consequences of contamination and false readings.

Your DWI attorney can point out the liabilities of the blood draw practice. Police officers do not actually take into account drivers who are haemophiliac, diabetic, or on blood thinners.

Reader’s Question:

We recently moved here in Austin, Texas. My son has once been charged with DUI in the previous state we lived in but his case was dismissed. Since then, I’ve been following some news about DWI arrests. I heard that the Police Chief here in Austin is planning to train officers to draw blood for Texas DWI in Austin. Isn’t it that this would be a dangerous act on the part of the DWI suspect?

Marlon

Austin, TX

Your question is quite interesting, Marlon and you are very up to date when it comes to DWI news considering the fact that you just recently moved in Austin, Texas.

Austin Police Chief has announced his interest in training officers to draw blood when a driver refuses to submit to a breath test and is suspected of drunk driving in Austin. He is actually seeking funds to train as many DWI police officers as possible in the drawing of a blood sample. The key feature of the plan is to replace paramedics and nurses with police officers in the drawing of a blood sample. The Police Chief has noted reduced taxpayer cost and the advantage of time in drawing a sample quickly from a driver suspected of driving while intoxicated in Austin. He noted that it would be a savings to taxpayer because the officer would already be in court to give testimony in the drunk driving case.

He also plans that search warrants would be aggressively used when a driver declines to be tested.

Like any other new plans and introductions in law enforcement, the plan has raised concerns from critics about blood related pathogens and the presence of needles during a DWI arrest.

Reader’s Question:

I never got a charge for DUI. My uncle has one here in Texas. I’m just wondering if there is a law that would allow security checkpoints in the state. What are the benefits of having this law?

Ana
Austin, TX

The law that would allow security checkpoints in the state of Texas has not been passed. The representative who sponsored this proposal agreed the security checkpoints will result in fewer arrest for DUI. This bill would actually require security checkpoints throughout Texas on roads where police officers have noticed a higher volume of drunken drivers. Lawmakers who are in favor of this proposal say that it would reduce fatal drunken driving accidents by 20%. In 2005, there were about 1,569 fatalities in Texas caused by DUI.

Some critics opposed to this proposal said that security checkpoints are unconstitutional and that they would result to racial profiling and illegal search and seizures.

To date, Texas is just one of the states which doesn’t allow security checkpoints.

Reader’s Question:

My boyfriend has a DUI charge here in San Antonio, Texas and he already went to court. The police officer did not show up. What happens if the officer doesn’t show up for a second time?

Farah

San Antonio, TX

In the state of Texas, police officers are required to appear. But if the police officer doesn’t show up for the second time, the case would still be continued. If the police officer is not in court, that is because he was excused. He may already spoken with the judge and made arrangements for someone to come in his place, which is very unlikely, but the DUI case will still be continued at a later date. If the officer was not excused by the court, your boyfriend may ask for a dismissal of the DUI case.

To make sure that he will get out of his DUI charge, he will be needing a good San Antonio, Texas DUI lawyer because this is a serious offense that need not taken lightly.