Austin Police To Launch Holiday 'No Refusal' DWI Crackdown

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Police Department launched a no-refusal initiative Thursday night to crack on DWI offenders on local roads through early next year.

The crackdown will continue nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until Jan. 3, 2021, police said in an advisory. "The focus of this initiative is to proactively encourage drivers to make responsible decisions, enforce DWI laws and to apply for blood search warrants for suspects who refuse to provide breath or blood specimen as required by law."

The blood search warrants aspect of the initiative is at the root of the "no refusal" descriptor to the operation. DWI suspects who decline to submit to a breathalyzer test or blood draw will be issued bench warrants enabling police to draw blood to determine drivers' intoxication levels.

Police cited statistics so far this year to illustrate the need for the operation. To date, officials said, police have responded to 86 traffic fatalities this year compared to 82 at the same time in 2019.

"The department — in partnership with grants provided by the Texas Department of Transportation and no-refusal funding through the City of Austin Transportation Department — is continuing to work to address safety on our roadways and waterways to keep that number from climbing even higher before we reach 2021," police wrote in the advisory. "The Austin Police Department is dedicated to making all modes of travel safe for residents and visitors throughout our city and asks that you do your part to make sure everyone makes it home safely for the holidays."