El Paso Sheriff’s Deputies To Patrol For DWI On Spring Break

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) will be utilizing a $50,000 GRANT for additional patrols this Spring Break 2011 Season for DWI traffic enforcement. The purpose of this program is for extra Patrol Deputies to saturate high risk roadways / intersections where alcohol related accidents occur most frequent. It is also aimed at getting speeding & impaired drivers off the roadways. The push is to deter drunk driving.

The enforcement program begins this Saturday, March 12, 2011 and continues through Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Some interesting figures provided by TXDOT Show:

For the year 2009 (2010 not available) for El Paso, Texas (City / County):

Sheriff Deputies will patrol and arrest / ticket drivers who ignore traffic laws. We continue to enforce the zero tolerance on seat belt/child safety seat use and drinking and driving. We will also focus on aggressive driving, and those who fail to obey the speed limit.

Penalties for a first-time DWI offense include :

?Up to $2,000 fine ?72 hours to 6 months in Jail ?Driver’s license suspension for up to one year ?$1,000 annual fee for 3 consecutive years to retain drivers license