Houston Rodeo DWI Round Up
I am not sure if Pat Lykos, Harris County District Attorney, will be attending the Houston Rodeo this year, but if she is she most likely is hoping to rope some drunk drivers in during the month of March. The Harris County District Attorney's Office,(HCDAO) has expanded its "no refusal weekend" once again during the rodeo. Initially, this program was implemented during major holiday weekends. Subsequently, it has expanded at will. Today, the HCDAO is announcing a "spring no refusal." Their aim is to protect the added travelers during the various events that are occurring at this time of year like the Houston Rodeo, St. Patrick's Day, and "March Madness." The "no refusal weekend" was implemented to make Harris County, Texas residents think twice before driving while intoxicated. That message is being diluted by having a "no refusal weekend" becoming the norm. I would be curious to see the statistics of DWI arrests from a regular weekend compared to one of the "no refusal weekends." I have not seen any data that suggests that these no refusal weekends decrease drunk driving. I am willing to wager that what it does increase is the number of Houston DWI Task Force man hours, and therefore cost the city more money then it should be paying out. All things considered, the "no refusal" sounds great as a press release and sound bite, but is doing little to achieve the intended goal or reducing drunk driving in Hourston.
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Logically, as a 