DUI Van Speeds Up Texas DUI Process
In recent years, DUI laws have been growing stricter and stricter, with penalties for those convicted of DUI charges getting steeper and steeper around the country. In an effort to keep up with the public's increasing interest in getting drunk drivers off the road, police departments are churning out innovative ways of tracking down and assessing suspicious drivers.
A recent example comes from Austin, Texas, where the police are now harnessing superpowers to help them keep impaired drivers off the road.
Well...something like that.
According to KLJB News Radio, the recently redesigned RV used by Austin's police force has been dubbed the "Breath Alcohol Testing Mobile." That's right: the BAT Mobile. The article mentions nothing about capes or hidden identities, but suggests that the revamped vehicle allows Austin police to perform their duties with an extra edge of efficiency.
Apparently, the 38-foot bus includes enough room for two police officers to write up DUI paperwork while viewing tape from DUI arrests on either of two TV monitors. It seems every police car in the Austin Police Department's fleet includes cameras to record arrests for the sake of evidence.
In addition to the "office" section, the BAT Mobile reportedly has doors separating the officers' space from a sort of waiting room area, where suspects can pass the time while their results are processed. And Austin police can evidently process arrest data in their wonder vehicle, thanks to two breathalyzer machines (and two bathrooms).
News 8 Austin reports that the $250,000 bus is an improvement on the former DUI RV, which was large enough for only one person at a time. Suspects allegedly had to wait outside the bus during DUI processing before the BAT Mobile was introduced.
Sources indicate that the DUI bus serves an important function for Austin's police force by allowing the officers to process paperwork for DUI cases more efficiently than before, get back on the road faster after each arrest and clear up the main police station for other arrests.
If it works like it's expected to, the BAT Mobile should allow Austin police officers to process more Texas DUI cases than before.
