During the holiday season, people take to the road to enjoy the festive time with family and friends. This is true throughout the month of December and for New Year’s Day. It is important for people to be sensible meaning they should be cognizant of the potential for law enforcement to be out in force looking for signs of drugged or drunk drivers. While it is undoubtedly dangerous to drive while intoxicated, simply being stopped and arrested is not an indication of guilt.
Enforcement for Christmas through New Year
To ensure drivers are adhering to the law, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) was out looking for violators. In addition to watching for potential DWI, officers looked for drivers who exceed the speed limit, were distracted and broke the law in other ways. There were two separate plans including the Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort (CARE) and Operation Holiday. With such an emphasis on catching drivers if suspected of wrongdoing, those facing charges had to be prepared for what they might face in the aftermath of an arrest.
In 2020, a similar series of campaigns resulted in a litany of charges major and minor. Nearly 1,200 people were arrested for felonies, 615 faced DWI charges and 355 fugitives were caught. That is in addition to the nearly 14,500 drivers who were cited for exceeding the speed limit and the more than 800 who did not follow Move Over, Slow Down for emergency vehicles. Because DWI is one of the most frequent causes of a collision with injuries and death, it is completely reasonable that law enforcement is so focused on it as a problem during that holidays. That, however, does not supersede the rights of those who are charged.
Assessing the circumstances with DWI charges is essential to fight the case
When there is an aggressive campaign to enforce the law, it is possible that police could be overzealous in its efforts. That might include making a traffic stop without a viable reason to do so, violating protocol during the investigation or arresting someone for questionable reasons. A strong defense can be critical to a person’s future – especially if it is a young person home from college for the holidays. For alcohol or drug DWI, the entire case must be scrutinized to search for possible weak areas where the charges can be reduced or outright dropped. There may be avenues to gain an acquittal. Having guidance from the outset is important to assess the case and take the necessary steps for a comprehensive defense.
