DUI/DWI Drunk Driving Lawyer, Lawyers, Attorney, Attorneys, Law, Legal Court Cases

What is Drunk driving?

Drunk driving or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is illegal in most jurisdictions within the U.S..

The specific criminal offence is usually called driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI). Such laws may also apply to boating or piloting aircraft.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 17,419 people died in 2002 in alcohol-related collisions, representing 41 percent of total traffic deaths in the United States. Over 500,000 people were injured in alcohol-related accidents in the US in 2001. Alcohol-related is defined to include any driver, passenger or pedestrian involved in a fatal crash who has any trace of alcohol or suspicion of alcohol usage. According to the NHTSA, no other country uses these criteria in their statistical computations.

DUI, DWI, Drunk driving laws?

Most states in the U.S. designate a "per se" blood or breath alcohol level as the threshold point where a person is presumed to be impaired. The most common blood alcohol content (BAC) "legal limit" in the United States is 0.08 (i.e., 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood). Some states include a lesser charge — often known as driving while impaired — at a BAC of, say, 0.05 or above but less than the legal limit for the more serious charge (only Delaware still uses a more lax limit: 0.10). Prior to wider emphasis on drinking and driving in the 1980s, standards of 0.12 were also in place in some states. The legal limit for aircraft pilots in the U.S. is set at 0.04. Many states observe a much stricter standard — known in some of them as "TCP," standing for "Trace Constitutes Positive" — for drivers under the age of 21, which, since 1989, has been the uniform minimum purchase age for alcoholic beverages throughout the nation (prior to that year about half of all U.S. states formerly observed a lower drinking age, most commonly 18; the trend toward raising the age commenced in the late 1970s, with much of the impetus for doing so provided by a federal law passed in the mid-1980s mandating a reduced allocation of federal highway funds to any state which refused to raise the age to 21).

Unlike DUI cases that involve alcohol, there is no "per se" or legal limit that is employed for persons accused of driving under the influence of prescription medication or illicit drugs. Instead, the key inquiry focuses on whether the driver's faculties were impaired by the substance that was consumed. The detection and successful prosecution of drivers impaired by prescription medication or illegal drugs is therefore quite difficult. Similarly, although urinalysis toxicology screens can detect the presence of such substances in the driver's bloodstream, these analyses are unable to demonstrate that the substance was actually causing impairment at the time of driving. In response to these problems, several jurisdictions are currently considering legislation that would establish "zero tolerance" laws for those drivers arrested for DUI and found to have drugs or medication in their system. Additionally, technology is being developed for the purpose of administering roadside or laboratory tests that can detect the actual level of a controlled substance in an individual's body.

Many jurisdictions require more serious penalties (i.e., jail time, larger fines, longer DUI program, the installation of ignition interlock devices) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20, or even 0.15 in some places. These additional sanctions are an attempt to deter and punish the operation of a vehicle at extremely high BAC levels and the concomitant danger posed to the safety of persons and property by heavily impaired drivers. In many cases, the reason given for these additional sanctions is because an average person would have passed out from that much alcohol. To be able to drive at that level, a person has to have gotten drunk regularly for years, to increase his/her alcohol tolerance, and therefore is likely to have driven drunk repeatedly. However, since there is currently no standard test to measure alcohol tolerance, proponents of high-BAC additional penalties point to some studies that indicate that high-BAC offenders are more likely to be involved in a crash and more likely to recidivate. Critics of such laws point out that, due to the wide variation of alcohol tolerance, people with a high tolerance will suffer the additional penalties, even though they may be much less impaired than people with a low tolerance that were driving with a much lower BAC.

Some U.S. states also increase the penalties for drunk driving (even to the point of making it a felony) if certain other aggravating circumstances besides a very high BAC are present, such as if the drunk driver caused an accident requiring the hospitalization of another person lasting greater than a specified period of time (often 72 hours), in cases where an accident resulted in property damage exceeding a certain amount (often $500), or where the driver has a prior (and relatively recent) conviction for drunk driving. In addition, most states observe administrative laws that further penalize people convicted of DUI, typically enforced by the department that issues driver's licenses, usually titled Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or Department of Licensing. Also, in many states, persons under 21 who purchase, or even attempt or conspire to purchase, alcohol can have their driving privileges suspended (if they already are licensed drivers) or delayed (if not) even if they were not caught actually driving while intoxicated.

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Drunk Driving - Drunk Driving Facts

The facts about driving drunk include consideration of consequences: Punishment for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated
(DWI) or driving drunk, will vary, based on geographic locale and law in that state or county as well as which country you find yourself in. The potential consequences will depend upon whether or not it is the first offense, and whether various punishment enhancements may apply.

Generally, for a first offense DUI or DWI, penalties will include a fine, possible jail time or community service, a driver's license restriction, and mandatory attendance at an alcohol and drug
education program.

Why Drunk Drivers Are Dangerous: Imaging studies of the brain when it is under the influence of alcohol reveal that different areas of the brain are impaired under high and low levels of alcohol, according to a Yale study published in Neuropsychopharmacology.

"What we found is that when people were really intoxicated, they drove like they were really intoxicated and in a real vehicle," Pearlson said. "They speeded up, especially on corners, where most people slow down, and crashed more often into other vehicles." When mildly intoxicated, but below the legal alcohol limit, he said, the drivers seemed aware of the fact that they were impaired and corrected for the deficit. The researchers also found that alcohol had a profound effect on some, but not all, brain circuits activated in sober driving.

The highest blood alcohol level was 0.1 and the lowest was 0.05. Drivers are considered legally drunk when their blood alcohol level is 0.08.

Here are some helpful drunk driving facts:

• One person is killed every half-hour due to drunk driving
• Each year approximately 16,000 are killed in alcohol related crashes
• Alcohol is a factor in almost half of all traffic fatalities
• Every other minute a person is seriously injured in an alcohol related crash

What Are Some Examples of DUI Penalties?
DUI punishment varies from state to state, so you'll need to check with your lawyer to see what may apply in your particular state. Using California DUI penalties as an example, first offenders who are denied probation can expect the following:

1. 48 hours of jail time minimum.
2. 6 months driver's license suspension
3. $340 fine

As you can see, DUI penalties are fairly harsh, even for a first offense. There are things that can factor in to a first time offense, depending on your state. Driver's license suspension may be part of the package, but if you get probation, your state may allow you to keep your license provided you meet certain conditions set by the court. These can include rehab
counseling, safe driver classes, and community service. Your lawyer will have more information, but make sure you understand what you are committing yourself to under a probation agreement. Violation of probation is taken quite seriously and can result in automatic driver license suspension and jail time.

Article Tags: Dui, Drunk Driving, Drunk Driving Facts

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Andy Taylor runs websites on DUI Lawyer. DUI Lawyer Guides provides free information on DUI related issues please check www.dui-lawyer-guides.com.