Plenty of people consume alcohol year-round. Texas police officers are always on the lookout for signs of intoxicated motorists, as a result. When a police officer thinks that someone may have had too much to drink or might be under the influence of drugs, they will conduct a traffic stop, ask a few questions, and possibly administer tests. Anyone who fails roadside testing could end up arrested for a driving while intoxicated (DWI) offense.
Yet, motorists may have more temptation to drink during the warmest months of the year, and they are also more likely to be subjected to a traffic stop and an arrest during the summer months as well.
Why does enforcement tend to intensify during the summer?
Although drunk driving crashes do occur year-round, statistically the risk is a bit higher in the summer. The summer months have multiple holidays that people celebrate with barbecues and copious amounts of beer. Memorial Day, Labor Day and the 4th of July often all see a spike in drunk driving collisions and therefore also enforcement efforts by local police departments.
Overall, the summer months have more drunk driving crashes than the other seasons. Experts estimate that 28% of drunk driving deaths occur during the summer months. The reason for the modest but noticeable increase likely has to do with the weather and the holidays. The fact that teenagers and college students don’t have class is another contributing factor.
The higher risk often translates to more effort by police officers to engage in targeted enforcement efforts to deter drunk driving.
Officers often see what they expect to find
Unfortunately for those pulled over by a Texas police officer on the lookout for drunk drivers, an officer may ignore certain details of an interaction because other factors better support their assumptions.
For example, they may ignore explanations that make someone’s behavior during a field sobriety test or surprising results on a breath test make more sense. There could potentially be very reasonable explanations for the factors that made an officer suspect someone of intoxication at the wheel. Many individuals accused of the DWI offense could potentially have grounds for a defense if they have the right support.
Fighting back against DWI charges with the assistance of an experienced legal professional can help to protect someone’s driver’s license and help them avoid a life-altering criminal record, whenever this outcome is possible under the circumstances.