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East Texans enjoy going out and celebrating friendships and unwinding after a long day at work. Whether we're unwinding during happy hour or celebrating Taco Tuesday, Wine Down Wednesday or just going out Thursday night for college night, we're out to have a good time. While we're out having a good time unwinding with our friends alcohol sometimes plays a big role.

Unfortunately, there are East Texans that don't know how to handle their alcohol and know when to say they've had enough and then end up getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. No matter how often they hear the message 'Don't Drink And Drive' or 'Drunk Driving Kills', people are still doing it, and it's easily prevented.

We often cover arrests from Smith and Gregg County and report about them from the weekend, but you know law enforcement is working every day arresting folks on a wide variety of charges. When you see these reports every day, you begin to realize that there are a lot more people driving under the influence and/or driving while intoxicated than you realize and get arrested for it.

Driving under the influence or intoxicated is still a major problem in East Texas. It can not only wreck your life, emotionally and financially, but it can also wreck an innocent family's life too if you're the cause of an accident after a night out just unwinding or celebrating and drinking with your friends.

East Texans need to be more responsible when it comes to drinking. There are many options to get you home in the event that you have had too much to drink.

Call a friend to come to take you home
Call for rideshare to take you home - LYFT, Uber
Call for a taxi/car service

According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, the criminal penalties for a first DWI offense in Texas are:

  • fine up to $2000
  • between 3 and 180 days in jail
  • loss of driver license up to a year

Second offense penalties:

  • fine up to $4000
  • one month to a year in jail upon conviction
  • loss of driver license up to two years

Fines for third offense:

  • fine of $10,000
  • two to ten years in prison
  • loss of driver license up to two years

With all of that being said, please don't drink and drive because you are putting your life in danger along with other innocent drivers around you. Now let's take a look at the East Texans that were arrested in Smith and Gregg County alone on driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated from June 13th - 16th.

DWI Is Still A Huge Problem, 17 Arrested This Week In Gregg & Smith Co. Texas

These East Texans were arrested in Smith County and Gregg County for driving while intoxicated from June 13th - 16th.

These 14 People Were Busted In Gregg County For Driving While Intoxicated

Driving while intoxicated is a problem in Gregg County and across Texas and these people were recently arrested for driving while intoxicated in Longview.

91 People Had A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend Trip To The Smith County Jail

Ninety-one people were arrested for a wide variety of reasons and booked into the jail during the Memorial Day weekend 2022.

11 Individuals Put to Death for Crimes in Smith County, Texas

Here is a list of people who have been executed because of horrible crimes they committed in Smith County, Texas

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