Mothers Against Drunk Driving has one overriding concern: getting drunk drivers off the road. For more than two decades the group has sought to increase public awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, and increase laws against it.

Part of the efforts involves partnering with local police departments for public awareness and public safety campaigns.

Every year, thousands of drivers are arrested for drunken driving incidents. The problem is of particular importance to the state of Texas as it has the second-highest amount of yearly alcohol-related accidents, according to MADD.org.

“Last year, the staff assisted more than 4,000 victims of drunken driving incidents,” said Jeff Miracle, MADD Dallas executive director.

Police have responded positively to the efforts of MADD with some seeking to improve not only public awareness but also departmental procedures. So it is that the Carrollton Police Department decided to issue a “no refusal” policy when it comes to blood draws of those arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in their region. Starting next year the jailer will draw blood from anyone arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, no matter what time of day or what the suspect has to say about it.

According to Sergeant Andy Horn of the Carrollton Police Department: “Sometime around the new year, Carrollton will be going ‘no refusal’ on blood specimen samples only, 24/7. We will train our jailers to draw blood this October. The entire arrest, blood draw and book-in will occur here at our jail. We already do electronic search warrants, so the entire process will go quite quickly. We anticipate this will increase our enforcement ability, save time, reduce budget and most importantly, ensure much more effective prosecution. We will also be providing this service to Coppell PD, as they will house their arrestees at our facility.”

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