TxDOT launches anti-drunk driving campaign: 'Faces of Drunk Driving'
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation said they're putting a face on drunk driving statistics.
It's part of Faces of Drunk Driving, a new statewide anti-drunk driving campaign. During an interactive public exhibit on Sixth Street in downtown Austin Thursday, the transportation agency debuted the campaign.
Officials on site had a drunk driving simulator, which allowed those who were out and about to experience drunk goggles. Those who participated were also asked to play cornhole while wearing the goggles to experience how being impaired could have an impact.
TxDOT also provided $25 gift cards for the rideshare company Uber to those who seemed intoxicated Thursday night.
The agency reported one in four traffic deaths on Texas roads last year were caused by drunk drivers with over 25,000 drunk driving-related crashes — an increase of 9% when compared to 2020.
In Austin, officials said there were around 33 crashes with "no fatalities, just one serious injury," said TxDOT spokesperson Chris Bishop.
"This year, there could be a lot worse, and that's why we want people to pay attention. Plan before you go."
A DWI can cost up to $17,000 in fines and fees, according to TxDOT.
This weekend, several law enforcement agencies will be on the road patrolling drivers including the Texas Department of Public Safety's Highway Patrol.
The agency is launching two campaigns for Fourth of July weekend: Operation Holiday and Operation CARE.
Operation Holiday will run from Saturday through Monday. DPS said its troopers will target drivers who violate traffic laws, including those who are caught speeding, not wearing their seatbelts or driving while intoxicated.
Last year, DPS reported there were 55,776 citations and warnings issued during the Independence Day campaigns. The breakdown included 17,376 citations and warnings for speeding, 2,006 for people driving without seat belts or child safety seats and 1,632 for people driving without insurance.
The state agency also arrested 298 people for driving while intoxicated.
“Our nation’s freedom is something worth celebrating, and I encourage everyone to do it in a responsible way,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw in a news release. “This includes being mindful of our state’s traffic laws and being courteous of other drivers on the roads, so everyone can have a good holiday.”
Operation CARE (Crash Awareness Reduction Effort) starts Friday and lasts through Monday. The agency said this campaign will focus "on reducing crashes and violations of the state’s Move Over, Slow Down law."
For some perspective, DPS reported between Jan. 1 through June 7 of this year there were 4,135 Move Over, Slow Down violations.
That's the law that requires drivers to slow down or move over when police, fire, EMS, TxDOT vehicles or tow trucks are stopped on the side of a road with emergency lights.