Police can take blood samples of those suspected of driving under the influence without waiting for a warrant, a recently passed senate bill says.
SB 328, which went into effect Sept. 1, permits officers three circumstances for which a blood sample can be acquired: if the driver is suspected of driving under the influence with a child in the car, if police have credible information that the driver has previously been convicted twice before for the same or a similar offense, or if the driver causes an accident in which someone else was injured.
"The bill used to say, 'if there was death or bodily injury,'" said Sgt. Todd Van Dresar of College Station Police Department. "They lowered the degree of injury."
Many students have expressed support of the bill because they are hoping it will show a decrease in drunk driving.
"I know that there are ways to deceive Breathalyzers and even field sobriety tests, but blood drawing is precise," junior English major Tiana Cooper said. "Hopefully people will fear getting caught more, and therefore stop driving drunk. If we can eliminate more deaths due to drunk driving this way then why not do it?"
Van Dresar said the idea behind the bill is to stop drunk driving.
"If the suspect does these things then Senate Bill 328 will enable us to gather more evidence against him," Van Dresar said.
Police do not draw blood on site, but the suspect is taken to the hospital where appropriate hospital personnel administer the test and medical care.
For the first offense driving under the influence is a Class B Misdemeanor in Texas, which can lead to a minimum of 72 hours in jail, 24 hours of community service and up to a $2,000 fine.
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