legal advice

D.U.I. implies driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. It is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs whereby the mental and motor driving skills are impaired. This is also called driving while intoxicated or DWI and is illegal in all jurisdictions. The laws pertaining to this may also be applicable to boating or piloting aircraft.
Drunk driving is indeed a dangerous thing to do. No wonder why D.U.I./DWI invites stiff fines and penalties. The violations in traffic rules that D.U.I./DWI may cause can range from weaving, swerving and drifting to braking erratically.
There is a special D.U.I. offense committed when the driving is being carried out under the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs. It may be that the drugs causing or contributing to the impairment are not illegal and they are a part of lawfully prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Such drunk driving is the causative of a large number of accidents, deaths, injuries and losses that take place year after year.
As per present day statutes there is provision for two separate and distinct criminal offenses. The traditional ‘drunk driving’ offense consists of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Observations of erratic driving, slurred speech, unsteady gait and the like by the concerned official together with performance on field sobriety tests and a legal presumption of intoxication from a blood alcohol test result over the legal limit serve as evidence for the crime of D.U.I./DWI.
The second offense is the more recent ‘per se’ offense as it is referred to as. This is proved by the indication of a given level of blood alcohol content (B.A.C.) at the time of driving (0.08 units of milligrams per deciliter of blood) regardless of the alcohol tolerance level of the person concerned. Both the offenses can be charged i.e. the defendant may be convicted of both.
There is no ‘per se’ or legal limit employed for persons accused of driving while being under the effect of prescription medication or illicit drugs. The key focus of the inquiry is to determine whether the driver’s faculties were impaired by the influence of the substances consumed. Despite there being techniques of determining the presence of the substances in the driver’s bloodstream the prosecution of drivers impaired by prescription medication or illegal drugs is not easy.
Some significant points about D.U.I./DWI laws enacted are:• In recent times the legal presumption of intoxication from blood alcohol concentration has been reduced to 0.10%. With federal pressure the states have further reduced it to 0.08%.• Zero tolerance laws have been enacted that makes it a crime for drivers less than 21 years of age to drive a vehicle with 0.01 or 0.02 B.A.C.• There has been a universal adoption of license suspension laws providing for immediate confiscation and administrative suspension of driver’s license if the B.A.C. was 0.08% or if the driver refused to undergo testing.
In case of D.U.I./DWI the fines and penalties are awarded following legal action depending upon the nature and frequency of the crime. While the first time conviction may not be very severe and involve a fine, a license suspension or restriction and attendance of a D.U.I. course for certain period of time the subsequent offenses can lead to jail sentences. D.U.I./DWI risks many lives. Hence, strict legal enactments in this regard have been considered justified.