The Texas Department of Public Safety’s program to help reduce DWI cases in Brown County seems to be making the roads safer.

DPS Sergeant Jason Shea indicates that alcohol and drug related accidents are down by 64% as compared to last year.  There were a total of 19 alcohol or drug accidents in Brown County between October 15^th – December 15^th 2008 while only 7 in the same time period for 2009.

The DPS began their “no refusal” program on October 15^th of this year.  In this program, if someone is stopped for suspected DWI and refuses to take a breath test or blood test, the officer will seek a court order to take a blood sample with a judges’ signature.  This blood search warrant will allow the seizure of a blood sample to determine if the suspect is legally intoxicated

This program is geared towards cracking down on DWI cases in Brown County with the Texas DPS, Brownwood & Early Police Departments, and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department all participating. The “no refusal” program runs through January 15^th 2010.

The Texas DPS released its weekly DWI statistics from its three month program.

The following is a summary of the DWI enforcement for week of 12/6/09 – 12/15/09

DWI Arrests—————————————-4

Public Intoxication Arrests————————5

Open Container Citations————————-3

Driving Under Influence Minor——————-0

Alcohol Related Accidents————————1

Drug Related Accidents—————————0

Fatal Accidents————————————-0

Minor in Possession——————————–3

Blood Search Warrants—————————-2