City officials to discuss ‘No Refusal’ initiative in Thursday news conference

AUSTIN (KXAN) — City officials will hold a joint news conference Thursday morning to discuss the Austin Police Department’s “No Refusal” initiative and how it will now be year-round.

APD will be joined with the city of Austin Transportation and Public Works Department in the news conference, which is happening at 10:30 a.m. at the APD Main.

The “No Refusal” initiative is a collaboration between APD and the city’s Vision Zero program, which aims to reduce the number of severe and fatal crashes on Austin roadways.

The city operated the initiative each night for the months of June, July and August as a way to crack down on impaired driving, city leaders said in June in a newsletter .

The program is also a way for officers to obtain search warrants for blood samples from those suspected of drunk driving who refuse breath or blood tests.

According to officials, impaired driving crashes happen the most on weekend nights and holidays.

Jennifer Sanders and Kelsey Thompson contributed to this report

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