Good article in the Statesman pointing out the problems with occupational DL's.

I think the problem is best addressed by having an interlock placed in the occupational drivers vehicle as a condition to the occupational, and that he be limited to driving vehicles so equipped. And also tack that on as a condition of bond.

What do you say?

Occupational Drivers licenses granted too easy

Or, how about if judges actually did their job by following the law? They could require proof of eligibility and exercise some actual discretion, rather than just shrugging their shoulders and signing anything put in front of them. They could require proof of compliance through a log or occasional reappearance before the court with a driving record.

And, every now and then, maybe a few people could actually do without a car.

"I guess the simplest way to put it is that the juice ain't worth the squeeze," said Shannon Edmonds , an attorney who works in the government relations office for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. "The time and expense spent on suspending someone's license before they are convicted isn't justified" by the cost to the state, Edmonds said.

Details.

In fact the three month investigation with KVUE and the Statesman has revealed these licenses are very easy to get and almost an administrative process of a DWI and it's stunning how little is required of some of these drivers. Case in point, Jeffery Dunn. His petition to the court after the 2008 arrest says he works on-call and therefore must be able to drive 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He also asked for driving privileges in 5 Texas counties for the purchase of necessaries such as food, clothing, shelter, and health care appointments. That means Jeffery Dunn can drive all but 1 minute of every day.

Details.

To illustrate how worthless this whole process is:

I had an attorney file an application on behalf of a client for an occupational in my county asking for permission for the client to drive in 121 different counties (I had to count the list three times to make sure that I had counted them all correctly). It was basically every county on a line from Brownsville to Dallas, from the Louisiana border west to Midland.

In MOST cases, our office simply waives appearance or objection, knowing that it would do no good at all. In this cases, I filed a written reply brief objecting to the requested terms, citing statute, and made a personal appearance in front of the county judge to raise objections.

Of course, when we got there, the judge hadn't read the filing, and when I objected to the geographic scope, basically just let the attorney pick 5 or 10 counties to strike off the list, then called it good enough and granted the occupational.

The reason the client needed that extensive a driving area? He's a high school teacher, and drives the UIL team to meets all over Texas. Greeeeeaaaat. When I got the DWI submitted to my office the client had been arrested after passing out in his truck at 3 AM, while in the line waiting for his Whataburger.

Occupationals are a farce. A much better solution would be simply to make breath test refusal a class B misdemeanor, and usable for enhancement of subsequent DWI convictions.

At one of my former offices we actively opposed on the record every ODL that was filed. It was a bit of a waste of time and resources, but the boss wanted the office to be on record opposing the ODLs should one of those folks have a wreck while on an ODL. The only one that I remember being denied was a 17-year-old kid who was in high school (and no job), lived a mile away from the school, and testified that the reason he couldn't walk to school (or get a ride, even) instead of drive was because he'd have to get up an hour earlier. Judge found no essential need in that case.

... my suggestion was not to end ALR and replace it with nothing, but to replace it with ignition interlocks after arrest.

Why require that an occupational license include an interlock when you can just require the interlock itself? Cut out the middleman, save the state money by abolishing ALR (~$3m-5m per year in savings), save the defendant money by not having to pay a lawyer for an ALR hearing or an ODL (leaving more money for court costs, fines, fees, etc.), and let people drive SOBER until their case is resolved.

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Originally posted by Shannon Edmonds:
... my suggestion was not to end ALR and replace it with nothing, but to replace it with ignition interlocks after arrest.

Why require that an occupational license include an interlock when you can just require the interlock itself? Cut out the middleman, save the state money by abolishing ALR (~$3m-5m per year in savings), save the defendant money by not having to pay a lawyer for an ALR hearing or an ODL (leaving more money for court costs, fines, fees, etc.), and let people drive SOBER until their case is resolved.

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+1 Any of that works, but the workable key for us in the trenches now to protect the public is simply to not agree to an occupational unless it includes an interlock as a condition of the OC, and to ask the judges you work with to require interlocks as a standard condition of bond on any felony dwi/intox crime.

I refuse to agree to any occupational unless it contains a provision for mandatory interlock.

I realize this requires a judge or judges to agree with you, and fortunately, most of the judges I have worked with over the years do regard dwi as a serious problem and take their duties seriously regarding the protection of the public.

The only problem with all this - and I do agree that I would rather see interlocks than occupationals - - the interlock is not available in all counties...

Lisa L. Peterson
Nolan County Attorney

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the interlock is not available in all counties...

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What happens to repeat offenders on supervision for whom interlock is mandatory? Or do I not want to know the answer to that question?

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Originally posted by Shannon Edmonds:

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the interlock is not available in all counties...

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What happens to repeat offenders on supervision for whom interlock is mandatory?

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Or for that matter, first timers who blow over a .15.

I've got a feeling that if interlock for 180 days was made a condition of DWI bond or ordered in place of an occupational, we'd see a lot more availability of interlock in places that it's not so easily obtained now.

Day 2 of series on the toothless license suspension program: Details.