You can find the harshest DUI laws here in the US but still more and more people are are arrested for drunk driving simply because they think that they can get away with it. A lot of drivers have been arrested for imbibing even just one bottle of wine because their alcohol content has been proven to be a little bit higher than what is acceptable.
Whether you will be arrested for DUI depends solely on your attending officer at the time you are stopped on the street. There are some cases wherein the officer allows the situation to slip but there are instances wherein you might be faced with a very strict officer who wouldn’t allow you to even explain yourself and the situation you are in. The law is simple. Zero alcohol intake for all drivers and that’s that.
When you are proven to have been drunk driving, there are some cases wherein other options may be offered to you and this may be when your limit BAC level is a little bit below than legal. You can be offered to pay a fine of about $400 depending on the state where you were arrested. If you refuse to pay up, then your license will simply be suspended and you will not be able to drive.
What is DUI?
DUI simply means that you are intoxicated while driving and that your BAC is at least .08% or even higher. When this is the case, you have to be able to prove yourself otherwise or at least come up with an alternative. You have to realize that drinking is harmful especially to people who drive. And once you are proven to be guilty of it, it will certainly take a pretty long time for you to revert the situation.
There are primarily three ways in which you can be charged with drinking and driving: “driving under the influence” (DUI) with a BAC of .08% and higher, “driving while impaired” (DWI), or “operating a motor vehicle while impaired” (OWI). DWI/OWI are generally the least serious. When charged with a DUI (the most serious of the three), the BAC must be at least .08 or greater. A DWI (the second most serious charge of the three) is charged when drivers have a blood alcohol content (BAC) level between .04 and .08%.
A blood alcohol content that reaches even just .08% is already considered unfit for driving because even that low percentage can already be unsafe and endanger your life and that of others as well. When you are found out to have been drinking any alcoholic beverages, you will prevent yourself from being given a license. That is the consequence you have to pay to be able to ensure your safety and to be able to make sure too that nothing can go wrong when you drive, at least nothing that has to do with your drinking.
In order for you to be issued a drivers license in any of the US states, you have to subject yourself to a blood alcohol test that will determine your intake level of alcohol. Remember this though: When blood is drawn out of your system, you have to know that you should have the consent for it and you should also know that you cannot subject yourself to it if you don’t really want to but if you don’t, that simply means that you cannot be issued your license. (There are other ways in order to check if you have any alcohol intake and that would be through your breath, urine and saliva. There are many symptoms too that can point out your drinking behavior and this can be in the form of having watery eyes and the like.)
The results of the exam that you will take can be contested especially when you know for a fact that you haven’t really been drinking anything. There are some rare instances wherein your results are manipulated and there are several ways on how you can prove the situation wrong. You can do so by trying to seek the help of an experienced DUI attorney and then have an alcohol test all over again in an institution of your choice but of course at your own expense.
After you have proven that you truly have not been drinking, you can already be issued your license and then you can drive in and around the different states of the US to any destination you want to go.
However, know too that some factors like the use of mouthwash, and other over the counter medicines can also result to you being proven to be positive for DUI. When this happens you can still be arrested under the DUI law in different states. You can still be subject to the revocation of your license.
Once you are arrested for DUI know that there are two problems that you can be faced with. You might have to appear in court and hire the help of a DUI lawyer or you can no longer be issued your license. Whatever the case it, it is especially important for you to be careful with your drug intake and then know that it is of course unsafe for you to drink while driving and vice versa.