Oklahoma DUI

Driving or operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher (DUI) or while under the influence of alcohol renders the driver incapable of safely driving is illegal in Oklahoma. Impaired driving also includes any amount of a Schedule-1 controlled substance or the use of any other intoxicating substance to the point where the driver is unable to operate a vehicle safely.

These laws are critical for public safety because alcohol-related crashes injure nearly 2,600 Oklahomans and kill approximately 225 each year. While impaired driving laws vary by state, Oklahoma has several laws that define alcohol/drug-related driving offenses. Continue reading for more information.

DUIA

A person is charged with this crime when he/she is stopped while driving and is under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs OR has a test result of .08% BAC or more. The punishment will range from a fine of as little as $100.00 up to $1,000.00 and/or a jail sentence up to one year, EVEN for a first offense. Persons with prior convictions can face fines up to $5,000.00and jail sentences of up to ten (10) years!

APCA

A person is charged with this crime when he is in his/her vehicle and is under the influence like in a DUI. However, in these cases, the person is NOT driving but is parked or sitting still on a street or a parking lot, and COULD drive if he wanted to do so. This crime is, effectively, the SAME THING as DUI ! It carries the same punishments.

AGGRAVATED DUI or APC

If a person tests .15% or more at arrest, he can ALSO face 30 days mandatory in-patient treatment, 480 hours of community service, one year of aftercare meetings, and an interlock on his car for at least 30 days. This is in additional to ALL other punishments available for the DUI or APC. This can EVEN be for a FIRST OFFENSE!

DWI

This is Driving While Impaired by alcohol; NOT Driving While Intoxicated. This crime is charged against the person who is driving but has an alcohol level BELOW .08% BAC, specifically, specifically, .06 to .07% BAC. It carries a lesser punishment in most courts. The maximum punishment for this crime is a fine of $500 and/or six (6) months in jail. The license is revoked for only thirty (30) days and ONLY if you are convicted.

What Happens To First Time DUI Offenders in Oklahoma?

Once your blood alcohol content or BAC is proven to be .08 percent or higher, you will automatically be charged guilty of impaired driving and can expect to receive a DUI charge immediately.

Penalties That Apply to Impaired Driving – Once you are convicted with a DUI case, you will automatically be charged with $100 to $500 in monetary gains. You can also be imprisoned for up to six long months in jail or both. For first time offenders, your drivers’ license will be suspended and you cannot then drive for about thirty days.

Some Penalties that Apply For Dui (BAC .08% or more) – If it is your first offense to be charged with a DUI then that is automatically tagged as a misdemeanor and therefore you will be punished by imprisonment in jail for no less than ten days or not more than one year and will also be fined the amount of not more than $1,000.

License Revocation – Your driver’ license can also be revoked for a good number of about a hundred and eighty days.

Test Refusal – Once you are randomly selected by an officer in charge to undergo a breath and blood test and you refuse to take it, then your license will automatically be revoked for a period of one hundred and eighty days or up to three long years. This will depend greatly on your previous driving records as well other criminal records.

Under 21 DUI Oklahoma

If it is your first time to be convicted with a DUI offense, you would have to undergo a physical examination together with a blood and breath test to measure of blood alcohol content or BAC. When you are proven to be guilty, you will be charged with a revocation for your license for a period of six months.

Fines and penalties for Underage DUI

A fine amounting to $100 up to $500 or community service treatment program would be mandatory for you to take. You can be charged with just one or a combination of both depending on many things.

Once you are convicted with DUI in the State of Oklahoma, you may be charged with a higher insurance rate because then you would have more risks and liabilities on your part. Your family’s insurance may also be charged a much higher amount as well. In fact, there are some instances wherein your insuranced carrier might drop their services for you. Other than this, you might also be forced to pay an expensive coverage just to be able to still have an insurance. Therefore, it would mean a lot of trouble for you when you are convicted with DUI.

DUI vs. APC – What’s The Difference?

This is often confusing to people, especially when a person has been arrested for an alcohol related TRAFFIC offense when he is NOT driving! You can be arrested for APC while sitting in your car. Many people have had this happen to them when they KNEW they had had TOO MUCH to drink to drive safely, and pulled over to “wait it out”. Although trying to do the right thing, they were arrested for a crime that is effectively the same as DUI. They were no better off – with the possible exception of avoiding a car wreck while driving – than if they had gone ahead and tried to drive on home!

To be sure, our office is NOT condoning anyone taking the chance of driving when one KNOWS that he has had TOO MUCH to drink. However, you should know what ELSE you should do to avoid this crime of APC. Simply pulling over is NOT enough. Your vehicle must be TOTALLY OFF any street or road. Pulling into a parking lot or driveway is NOT enough!

The absolute BEST way to avoid either a DUI or APC is to NOT get into a car after having drunk alcoholic beverages. If you know you have had too much, get away from your car and have SOMEONE ELSE drive you home!

Is There Any Way to Avoid the Revocation of Your Driver’s License?

Yes. However, you MUST ask for a hearing with the Department of Public Safety within fifteen (15) days of your arrest. If you wait even a day longer, there is NOTHING that you can do to stop this revocation. After the hearing is requested, a temporary license is forwarded to your attorney and he sends it to you. The hearing is set about 6 weeks later. You then must WIN that hearing to avoid the revocation of the license!! This is the ONLY way that the revocation can be avoided! What happens in Court has nothing to do with this!

More Severe Consequences

If you are under the age of 15 and your blood alcohol content or BAC is proven to be over.15%, then you can expect more severe consequences on your part.

You can act on the DUI charges in Oklahoma that can be charged against you by doing two things:

One is by simply taking your concerns into great and serious consideration. The conviction for DUI in Oklahoma will certainly have a lot of consequences on your part. Your employment can also be affected together with your future and your freedom as a person.

Oklahoma DUI Offenses

Aggravated DUI in Oklahoma is based upon the test result. If a person tests – either by breath or blood – a .15% or higher, he CAN be charged with aggravated DUI. A prior record DOES NOT matter. This can apply to a first timer arrest as well. These charges can ONLY be filed in a State-level court. Municipal Courts do not have the jurisdiction to file this charge. The punishment for this type of DUI starts with the same punishment as a “regular” DUI: up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine for a first time OR, up to 10 years and/or $5,000 fine if you have had two or more prior convictions of felonies before. However, aggravated DUI provides for an ADDITIONAL “layer” of punishment of, IF CONVICTED, 30 days mandatory in-patient alcoholism treatment, 480 hours community service, one (1) year of aftercare meetings, and an ignition interlock installed on the person’s car for no less than 30 days. This way of charging applies to an Actual Physical Control while under the Influence (APC) as well.

What Is Aggravated DUI In Oklahoma?

In it’s infinite wisdom, the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma created a NEW crime called “Aggravated DUI”. An aggravated DUI is a DUI case where the person arrested had a chemical test result of .15% or greater on either a breath or blood test. The statutory authority for this is found in 47 O.S. §11-902(D). As such, it can ONLY be filed as a State-level charge in a District Court. It is not a municipal court charge, UNLESS the specific Municipality has added it to their ordinances.  HOWEVER, most have not.

It is actually not a new crime at all, but another layer of punishment that is laid on top of that which the statute would otherwise provide. For instance, if the case in question is a misdemeanor DUI, the punishment is a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of one(1) year in the county jail, and/or a fine up to $1,000. If the charge is filed as an aggravated DUI, the potential punishment is the same, PLUS those additional punishments that this sub-section of the statute provides. Those extra punishments are:

  1. A minimum stay in an alcohol in-patient treatment facility of 28 days;
  2. A One (1) year aftercare probation period (or meetings) upon release from     inpatient;
  3. Periodic testing during this probationary period;
  4. The completion of 480 hours of community service; and,
  5. The installation of an ignition interlock on the person’s car for no less than 30 days. Remember: these punishments are in ADDITION to the jail and fines that the regular charge carries!

A clear and simple reading of the statute shows that these extra punishments are MANDATORY, but ONLY if the person is CONVICTED of the charge. If a person receives a deferred sentence, these additional items are NOT required, and most judges will not impose them on the person. However, some judges have mis-read this statute and think that they MUST impose these extra things on a person charged with aggravated DUI even if the agreement is for a deferred sentence.

Almost every district attorney’s office in Oklahoma is filing these charges in cases with a test of .15% or higher. In those district courts where they are being filed, the normal practice is to amend the charge BACK DOWN to a regular DUI, IF the person has had an alcohol assessment which does not reflect the NEED for the person to complete an in-patient program.

Most of the municipal police departments in Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City, Edmond, etc) will file their DUI arrests with tests of .15% and higher in that district court. However, although Oklahoma’s LARGEST district court is Oklahoma County, it has not had a single aggravated DUI filed by that DA’s Office from the passage of this law in 2001 to the present (August, 2006). It is believed that the reason for this is because a Judge in Pottowatomie County District Court ruled the statute as unconstitutional at the end of 2001 and the Oklahoma County D.A’s office does not want to engage in an appeal on that issue.

Hire an Experienced Oklahoma DUI Attorney

You can seek the help of DUI attorney and lawyer in Oklahoma who can help you deal with your DUI offense. When you do so, you will find that it is actually much easier to understand the Oklahoma DUI laws and court proceedings that you have to understand because now you have the help and guidance of someone who is knowledgeable on the said case. This is also why you shouldn’t just settle for any DUI lawyer or attorney in Oklahoma that you will find out there, rather choose the one who has a lot of experience already and then it would certainly be beneficial on your part to do so.

Next thing you know, with the guidance of the said lawyer, you wouldn’t have to deal with your DUI troubles by yourself and you can also expect great and positive results on your part. You can call your Oklahoma DUI lawyers or attorneys of choice, No payment is required and all your discussions will be kept confidential as well.