Austin American-Statesman Troubling Trend with Hispanics and DWI
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This article in the Statesman indicates that latinos account for nearly half of 2002 Austin arrests. The article is by Calire Osborn and Andy Afford - American By Claire Osborn and Andy Alford AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, July 20, 2003
The authors claim that Hispanics are being charged with more DWI's because:
"Sociologists cite studies showing that Latinos tend to drink less often but in large amounts when they do. Some advocates for Austin's Latino immigrants say many migrants arrive unfamiliar with U.S. laws on drinking and driving."
....
What all agree on is that more needs to be done to discourage a deadly trend: One-third of last year's 71 traffic fatalities in Austin involved Latino deaths. Alcohol was a factor in 74 percent of the 23 Latino deaths in those wrecks.
By comparison, alcohol was a factor in 60 percent of the 42 fatal wrecks involving whites. Only two blacks died in wrecks last year. The ethnicity of four others who died wasn't indicated, and the information did not differentiate between drivers, pedestrians or passengers.
Below are two graphs that the Austin American-Statesman published with this article. The source of information from the graphs were from the Austin Police Department and U.S. Census Bureau.
It's a long article with a lot of useful content and references ....
