Drunk Driving: Driving Under The Influence (DUI) Crime

What is DUI?

● Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is considered the act of driving a motor vehicle when under the heavy influence of alcohol or drugs

● A person is liable to DUI if he or she drives a motor vehicle and is under the influence of alcoholic beverages or any chemical or controlled substance to the extent that his or her mental abilities are impaired

● In most cases, DUI is considered a criminal offense and will show up as a misdemeanor or felony on a criminal record

Blood Alcohol Content

● Blood Alcohol Content or BAC refers to the percent of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream

● The legal limit of BAC for an individual of age 21 and over is 0.08 percent; for an individual younger than age 21 it is less than 0.01 percent

Blood Alcohol Content Level Risk of an accident

• 0.05% 2 times risker
• 0.10% 6 times risker
• 0.15% 25 times risker

Implied Consent

• Implied Consent when driving refers to the following law in New Jersey:
  • Simply by having a driver license in NJ, you have consented to take a breathalyzer test when instructed to do so by a police office
  • A breathalyzer test analyzes an individual’s BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) value to see if they are drunk

DUI Consequences

• DUI Consequences (First Offense):
  • A drivers license suspension of 3 to 12 months
  • Fines and fees of approximately $750 to $1,000
  • Up to 30 days in jail
  • Up to 48 hours of driver instruction at the IDRC
  • $1,000 per year surcharge for three years
• DUI Consequences (Second Offense):
  • A two year loss of license
  • 30 days of community service + up to 90 days in jail
  • 48 hours at the IDRC
  • Up to $1,500 in fines/fees + mandatory $3,000 surcharge

DUI Consequences (Continued)

• DUI Consequences (Third Offense):
  • Mandatory jail time of 180 days
  • a 10 year loss of license
  • Fines, fees and surcharges of over $5,000
• A DUI conviction will also result in a heavy increase of your insurance premium

DUI Facts

• Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, and about 33 percent of these accidents involve alcohol or another controlling substance
• Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash and every 120 seconds, someone is injured in a drunk driving incident
• A drunk driver will drive, on average, 80 times under the influence before their first arrest
• In 2011 alone, 9,878 people were victims of drunk driving accidents
• Only time will sober a drunk individual

DUI Facts (Continued)

• 28 percent of all traffic-related deaths in 2016 in the United States were people that died in alcohol related driving crashes
• 17 percent of all traffic deaths in 2016 among children ages 0 to 14 involved an alcohol-impaired driver
• In 2016, more than 1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics
• Drugs other than alcohol are involved in about 16 percent of driving crashes

How to avoid DUI

• Do NOT consume any controlling substance and start to drive afterwards – the risk is simply far too great
  • Ways to not DUI:
• Call a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to take you to your destination
• Stay where you are until you are completely sober (ex: sleep over at a party)
• Get a ride to your destination from someone who is completely sober

Bibliography

1. US Legal, Inc. ‘Driving Under The Influence (DUI) Law And Legal Definition | Uslegal, Inc.’. Definitions.Uslegal.Com, 2020, https://definitions.uslegal.com/d/driving-under-the-influence/. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
2. State.Nj.Us, 2020, https://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/license/drivermanual.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
3. ’11 Facts About Driving Under The Influence’. Dosomething.Org, 2020, https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-driving-under-influence. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
4. ‘Impaired Driving: Get The Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center ‘. Cdc.Gov, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
5. Administration, National. ‘Drunk Driving’. NHTSA, 2016, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
6. ’10 Things You Should Know About Getting A DUI’. Verywell Mind, 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/if-you-get-a-dui-67215. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
7. ‘Drinking And Driving (DUI): Consequences, Fines, & Sentences’. Alcohol.Org, 2020, https://www.alcohol.org/dui/. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.