After a drunk driver killed four people and injured more than 20 at last year’s SXSW, the City of Austin is limiting the number of free events to help reduce traffic congestion and drunk driving incidents. The Austin Police Department will also make officers more visible, close some intersections and add patrol cars next to barricades. Police hope these measures will reduce the chance of any more drunk driving accidents.

As reported to KXAN, Chris McIlvain, Assistant Chief of Police explained “We’re taking the approach of making it as safe as possible…”. The police department has installed additional LED lighting and are positioning 41 mobile High Activity Location Observation cameras in the area to help control street crime.

We’re proud that South by Southwest has made Austin home for 28 years and this year’s conference will last 10 days and include tech, film, and music events from March 13 through March 22. We encourage you to attend but please be responsible so everyone can stay safe.

The best thing to do if you are planning to attend events and drink alcohol is plan in advance for how to get home if you or a friend has had too much to drink. We recommend putting several taxi phone numbers in your mobile phone as well as downloading the apps for Uber and Lyft if taxi’s are running slow.

If the worst happens and you or a loved one ends up getting arrested during SXSW, call us immediately and we will start the process of getting out of jail.