In a diligent effort to make the roads of El Paso safer, the local Police Department placed heightened emphasis on apprehending individuals suspected of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) with a particularly vulnerable sort of passenger, children. This focused endeavor was made possible through a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation's Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). For the entirety of January, officers kept a watchful eye for signs of such dangerous behavior, which, as any reasonable person would agree, puts the smallest citizens at a significant risk.
According to the El Paso Police Department, the STEP initiative has a clear objective, to slash the number of traffic collisions by targeting the most grievous of violations. It's an unequivocal message to drivers, if you're going to indulge in alcohol, it's imperative to do so responsibly. Moreover, the hefty consequence for such an offense, being charged with a state jail felony, serves as an unambiguous deterrent. Driving with alcohol impairing one's judgment is dangerous enough on its own, but add a child under 15 to the mix, and the stakes soar.
The legal repercussions of such reckless behavior are worth noting. In Texas, per Sec. 49.045, if one is convicted of DWI with a passenger younger than 15 present in the vehicle, they have not merely committed a traffic infraction but are facing a state jail felony. The law is unequivocal, as a person commits an offense if they are intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place and the vehicle being operated by the person is occupied by a passenger younger than 15.
