TXDOT DWI Program Tries to Reach Young Male Hispanics
Across Texas, a statewide DWI prevention campaign is getting fired up again. The Texas Department of Transportation has run many DWI prevention campaigns throughout the years. TXDOT spends a lot of money aggressively promoting their “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail” message on billboards and television commercials. This time around, the are emphasizing their message to a specific group: young Hispanic males. The message is “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail. De Veras.” “De Veras” translates to “really” or “for real.”
Drink. Drive. Go to Jail. Not Literally True.
I always tell my clients that “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail” is not actually the law. It is important to understand that it is perfectly legal for people over 21 to drink and drive as long as they have not lost control of your physical and mental faculties and your blood alcohol concentration is below .08. It is the reason they sell beer at Cowboys games, Rangers games, Mavericks games. It is the reason we have bars and restaurants. A good defense attorney knows how crucial it is for juries to grasp this concept during a trial. “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail.” is not literally the law, but it is the strong message that TXDOT has been conveying to Texans for years. And now TXDOT is focused on conveying their message to Hispanics.
Hispanic Males and DWI Arrests
TXDOT estimates that almost half of the 2014 DWI accidents taking place with men under 34 involved Hispanics. One reason for the frequency and increase of DWI arrests among Hispanics may be simply age. The Hispanic community is often younger, and younger people have generally accounted for more DWI arrests than do older people. Young people generally drink more, party more, are out later, and take risks. The DWI prevention campaign will advertise heavily, and also plans to target events like music festivals and car shows.
