Online DWI Education Class

Traffic safety problems caused by people who use alcohol and drive are well documented. Additional information about other drugs and traffic problems is becoming available. Since the 1970's, a variety of efforts has been undertaken to seek to reduce the accidents and injuries caused by the misuse of alcohol. Laws in Texas have been enacted which increase penalties and require blood alcohol concentration (BAC) testing for intoxication. Law enforcement uses tools (breath-testing equipment and selective enforcement) to deal with the drinking driver.  

Courts have realized the seriousness of the DWI offense and have assessed stiffer penalties against offenders. The DWI education class addresses the component of the multi-faceted effort to cope with DWI. People with a DWI arrest, as do most of the general population, usually have little knowledge concerning the amount of alcohol or other drugs necessary to impair them; the types of impairment involved; the laws concerning DWI; means of coping with alcohol or drugged driving situations; and other important areas.  

The Texas DWI Education Class (online or in person) will enable DWI offenders to have a sound knowledge base upon which to make future decisions concerning their drinking/driving behavior. DWI education programs will not, however, produce an immunization against future drinking or drug use behavior.  

The program is part of an overall traffic safety effort by increasing the knowledge of all participants and changing the behavior of those who choose to use this knowledge. A part of the coordinated effort, the Texas DWI Education Program in Texas has been a very valuable component.  

The 12 hour DWI Education (1st Offender) Class is broken into the following sections: 

Section 1define terms, explain the nature of the problem of alcohol/drugs and traffic safety and provide possible solutions. In this module, we answer: 

• What is “BAC”? 
• What are three possible reasons for the decline in DWI deaths in Texas? 
• What percentage of traffic deaths in Texas in 2017 involved alcohol? 

Section 2 The purpose of this module is to breakdown hostilities, to allow participants to become involved, to explain necessary alcohol/drug traffic laws, and to begin instruction on alcohol and drugs. In this module, we answer: 

• What are the possible penalties for DWI in Texas? 
• What are the 3 provisions of the Texas Implied Consent Law. 
• What is the illegal BAC for driving in Texas? 
• Can a person be convicted of DWI with a BAC less than .08%? 

Section 3 This module is designed to provide basic information concerning ways humans are physiologically and psychologically affected by alcohol and selected other drugs as a lead-in to driving task effects. In this module, we answer: 

• How does the amount of alcohol differ when one compares a shot of whiskey, a can of beer, or a glass of wine? 
• What are the four prime factors which determine a person’s blood alcohol concentration? 
• Why does it take a number of hours to remove alcohol from the system? 
• What is the rate at which a person drinks alcohol is one factor which causes intoxication? 

Section 4 The purpose of this module is to explain the relationship of alcohol and other drugs to driving task abilities. 

• How is the probability of a fatal crash affected as BAC increases? 
• Why is combining alcohol and other drugs dangerous? 
• Are people more likely to drive drunk or drugged? 
• Which is the drug that drivers are most likely to test positive for? 

Section 5 The purpose of this module is to introduce participants to the concepts of alcoholism, dependency, and abuse. In this module, we answer: 

• What is the definition of alcoholism? 
• What are three symptoms of alcoholism? 
• What is the difference between abuse and alcohol dependency or alcoholism? 

Section 6 The purpose of this module is to present a variety of signs of chemical dependency to help participants evaluate the extent of their own problem. In this module, we answer: 

• What are three obvious and two less obvious signs of alcoholism? 
• How are alcohol and drug abuse related?

Section 7 The purpose of this module is to provide information on sources of assistance for alcohol and drug problems. In this module, we answer: 

• Where are three sources of assistance for alcohol/drug problems in our community? 
• What is AA? NA? 

Section 8 The purpose of this module is to point out that there is more than legal responsibility involved in dealing with alcohol/drugs and driving. In this module, we answer: 

• What are three types of money costs related to DWI arrest? 
• What non-monetary costs associated with a DWI arrest? 

Section 9 The purpose of this module is to aid the participants in making specific decisions which will prevent DWI behavior in the future. In this module, we answer: 

In what ways are people in our society pressured to drink alcoholic beverages? 

• Why are behavioral changes often hard to make? 
• What are some “common sense” solutions to deal with pressures to drink more than a person desires? 

Education programs for persons convicted of DWI have been implemented, especially since 1984, and general education in alcohol/drug use has been improved. Studies by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (which is now the Department of State Health Services) have indicated that a person is 50% less likely to be rearrested for a DWI offense if he/she has completed such a program (Liu, 1993).