Drunk Driving Law

Drunk Driving Law – Last Call May Be Your Last Drive As Well

There was a time when drunk driving laws were not taken very seriously and a person would spend the night in the drunk tank and be released in the morning with no other consequences.  This author is familiar with a case of a habitual alcoholic getting arrested but he was finally taken before a judge, and it was worked out that if he purchased four bottles of high quality whiskey for the judge, the charges would be dropped. This did happen but it was about fifty years ago. So thank goodness the times and the laws have changed so that a person is now held seriously accountable if they choose to drink and drive.

In most states there are two different laws, the first being DUI which is driving under the influence and DWI or driving while impaired.  Of the two offenses, the DWI is more serious because a police officer is able to make the distinction between the two charges while doing a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer test. If a person has had only one drink and not really impaired, they are driving under the influence and it is still a chargeable offense. The penalties of the drunk driving law hits hard on people who decide to drink and drive such as mandatory driver’s license suspension and jail.

Time for misdemeanor charge, prison time for the felony charge, and vehicle immobilization which includes 90 days of impoundment or higher. Some of the other ways drunk drivers will have to pay for more serious charges include mandatory vehicle forfeiture, where the state takes the car permanently, mandatory alcohol treatment and total driver’s license suspension. Specific laws may vary from state to state, but rest assured that every state in the country is cracking down on drunk driving. One of the things that some states are doing is setting up sobriety check points in random points, especially on Friday and Saturday nights which is being done all over the US.

It is announced ahead of time in the media, so that people cannot plead entrapment, and yet every time it is done, they do catch people who are driving drunk. Statistics show that the number of deaths due to drunk driving is lower and yet, one more death is one too many so if you do drink, please do not drive. Arrange ahead of time for a designated driver because you are not doing this for yourself as much as you are doing this for the innocent people out there on the streets and the people at home who care about and love you, if you go to prison on a drunk driving charge, what will happen to your loved ones? Think about them.