texas dui checkpoint

How a DUI Impacts Auto Insurance

A DUI or DWI charge may indicate a high risk of possible accidents, enabling insurance companies to inflate auto-insurance rates tremendously for approximately three years for anyone facing intoxicated or drunk driving charges.

High-risk driving is associated with DUI charges, as driving while impaired is an extremely dangerous situation to the driver and everyone else in the vicinity. People driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.09 percent are 11 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those with a 0.0 BAC, Esurance reports.

That type of high-risk driving is a red flag for insurance companies to exert higher premiums. Having a DUI on their driving history shows greater risk of being involved in or causing an accident.

How much will insurance rates increase with a DUI charge?

Insurance rates depend on a variety of factors including age, gender and driving records. For example, someone with only one DUI charge where no one was injured and no property was damaged, insurance premiums alone – not including the other costs of a DUI like treatment program, court and attorney fees – can increase to $2,700, making insurance hundreds of dollars more expensive each month.

Premiums will remain high for years depending on the state and it’s individual laws. In Arizona and Texas for example, DUI charges affect insurance rates for three years after the date of the incident, Progressive said.

During that three year period, high-risk drivers will most likely not be able to switch insurance policies, qualify to use insurance promotion deals or change companies because of extra fees and added challenges starting the evaluation process once a DUI is on his or her record.

A conservative cost estimate for the total amount of money spent on a DUI charge is just under $9,000. Thousands of dollars, possible injuries, property damage, emotional distress and other threats of a DUI are not worth it, call a cab or designate a driver before getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.

No Refusal DUIs Make Headlines in Arizona and Texas During Holidays

Texas and Arizona are two of nine states currently implementing “No-Refusal” initiatives for DUI stops.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsors special DUI efforts called “No-Refusal” DUI Weekend Initiatives that enforce blood alcohol content testing for those who are arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Currently, nine states including Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas and Utah conduct.

The “No-Refusal” program is an enforcement strategy that allows police to more easily obtain search warrants for blood samples from suspected impaired drivers who have refused to consent to breath tests, the NHTSA said.

During these “No-Refusal” weekends, officers are allowed to request warrants via phone from on-call judges or magistrates.

This enables law enforcement to legally acquire proper blood samples from drivers who refuse to give a breath sample. During these specified enforcement efforts, prosecutors and judges make themselves available to streamline the warrant acquisition process and help build solid cases that can lead to impaired driving convictions.

Under normal DUI checkpoint and arrests circumstances in general, the driver is taken to a hospital for blood to be drawn if a judge issues a warrant for the test. During “No Refusal” initiatives, a registered nurse is at a jail to draw blood onsite.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticizes “No-Refusal” policies because they violate the driver’s rights against unreasonable search and seizure. Some judges agree, and refuse to participate in these efforts because of legal uncertainties regarding the mass warrant issuing process.

Others say that “No-Refusal” weekends are like any other day for law enforcement.

“That officer has a legal avenue (of seeking a warrant from a judge) that they can take regardless of the ‘No Refusal’ weekend,” Johnny Poulos, director of public affairs for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said in USA Today about a recently conducted “No-Refusal” initiative.

The chance of being caught driving drunk, arrested and convicted increase when “No-Refusal” checkpoints are taking place, so efforts are often highly publicized. The public is made aware of the consequences, and judges are notified of the initiatives as well because of the increased amount of calls they will receive from officers for warrants.

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