DWI/DUI Laws of U.S. States
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above a proscribed level, 0.08 percent.
License suspension or revocation traditionally follows conviction for alcohol-impaired driving. Under a procedure called administrative license suspension, licenses are taken before conviction when a driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test. Because administrative license suspension laws are independent of criminal procedures and are invoked right after arrest, they've been found to be more effective than traditional post-conviction sanctions. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have administrative license suspension laws.
Forty-five states permit some offenders to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks. These devices analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition if the driver has been drinking.
In 30 states, multiple offenders may forfeit vehicles that are driven while impaired by alcohol. Forty-three states and Washington D.C. have laws prohibiting the driver, passengers or both from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
| State | BAC Defined as illegal per se | Administrative license suspension 1st offense? 1 | Restore driving privileges during suspension? 1, 2 | Do penalties include interlock / forfeiture? 3 | Open container laws |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/no |
driver / passenger |
| AK |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver |
| AZ |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| AR |
0.08 |
120 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
-- |
| CA |
0.08 |
4 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| CO |
0.08 |
3 months |
yes |
yes/no |
-- |
| CT |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
no/no |
-- |
| DE |
0.08 |
3 months |
no |
yes/no |
-- |
| DC |
0.08 |
2-90 days |
yes |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| FL |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| GA |
0.08 |
1 year |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| HI |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| ID |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| IL |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| IN |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
driver 4 |
| IA |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 90 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| KS |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/no |
driver |
| KY |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| LA |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| ME |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| MD |
0.08 |
45 days |
yes |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| MA |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/no |
driver / passenger |
| MI |
0.08 5 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| MN |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 15 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| MS |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/yes |
-- |
| MO |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/yes |
-- |
| MT |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| NE |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| NV |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 45 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| NH |
0.08 |
6 months |
no |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| NJ |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| NM |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| NY |
0.08 |
variable 6 |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| NC |
0.08 |
30 days |
after 10 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| ND |
0.08 |
91 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| OH |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 15 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| OK |
0.08 |
180 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver |
| OR |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| PA |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| RI |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver |
| SC |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| SD |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
no/no |
driver / passenger |
| TN |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver 7 |
| TX |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| UT |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/no |
driver / passenger |
| VT |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/yes |
driver / passenger |
| VA |
0.08 |
7 days |
no |
yes/yes |
|
| WA |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| WV |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
-- |
| WI |
0.08 |
6 months |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver / passenger |
| WY |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
no/no |
driver |
1. Information pertains
to drivers in violation of the BAC defined as illegal per se for
all drivers, not the special BAC for young drivers.
2. Drivers usually must demonstrate special
hardship to justify restoring privileges during suspension, and
then privileges often are restricted.
3. A multiple offender's vehicle may be seized
and disposed.
4. In Indiana, the open container restriction
only applies if the driver has a BAC of 0.04.
5. The 0.08 per se BAC law in Michgan contains
a sunset clause which states that the legal BAC will revert to 0.10
on October 1, 2013.
6. In New York, administrative license suspension
lasts until prosecution is complete.
7. In Tennessee, the open container law does not
prohibit any municipality, by ordinance, or any county, by resolution,
from prohibiting passengers from possessing an open container.
Note: All of the above material below the title is copyrighted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute. See its web site (sitewww.hwysafety.org) for information on permissible use of the Institute’s copyrighted materials. Data are correct as of July, 2004.
References
Readings and References
- Alberta Transportation & Utilities. Designated Driver A Smart Choice. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: 1996 (www.ama.ab.ca/trafsafe/thkf_des.htm/.
- Associated Press, "Designated Driver Campaign Working," Houston Chronicle, 11-30-97, p. A14.
- Barr, A., and MacKinnon, D.P. Designated driving among college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1998, 59(5), 549-554.
- Caudill, B.D., et al. DWI prevention: Profiles of drivers who use designated drivers. Addictive Behaviors, 2001, 26(2), 155.
- DeJong, W., and Winstein, J.A. The use of designated drivers by U.S. college students: A national study. Journal of American College Health, 1999, 47(4), 151.
- DUI Courts Website (American Council on Alcoholism), www.aca-usa.org/duicourtshome.htm
- Facts about drowsy driving. The Peer Educator, 2000, 23(4), 9 & 14. To learn more, visit www.dui.com/whatsnew/slep.html.
- Gary, S. L. S., et al. Consideration of driver home county prohibition and alcohol-related vehicle crashes. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2003, 35(5), 641-648.
- Graham, K. Preventive interventions for on-premise drinking. Contemporary Drug Problems, 2000, 27(3), 593.
- Hanson, D. J. Preventing Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol, Culture and Control. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995, chapter 3.
- Johnson, E. Cheers to the designated driver. Safety & Health, 1995, 152(6), 76-80.
- Kinkade, P., et al. Probation and the drunk driver: a cost of being "MADD." (mandatory sentencing for drunk drivers promoted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving not effective alone) Federal Probation, 1992, 56(2), 6-15.
- Lundegaard, Karen. DWI court treatment programs in U.S. show signs of helping drunk drivers to sober up. Wall street Journal, 4-7-04, pp. B1-B2.
- National Hardcore Drunk Driving Project (www.duidata.org)
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Guide to Developing a Community-Based Designated Driver Program. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Designated Driver, Safe Ride Program Community Action Guide. Washington, DC: NHTSA, 2001.(www.ncadd.com/designated/designated1.html/.
- Treatment advocates try to extend drug court success to DUI offenders. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 1999, 11(35), 1
- U.S. Department of Transportation. A Guide to Developing a Community-Based Designated Driver Program (www.ncadd.com/designated/designated2.
- Wells-Parker, E. Mandated treatment; lessons from research with drinking and driving offenders. Alcohol Health & Research World, 1994, 18(4), 302-307.
- Wells-Parker, E., et al. Self-efficacy and motivation for controlling drinking and drinking/driving: an investigation of changes across a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) intervention program and of recidivism prediction. Addictive Behaviors, 2000, 25(2), 229.
- Winfree Jr, L.T. and Giever, D.M. On classifying driving-while-intoxicated offenders: The experience of a citywide DWI drug court. Journal of Criminal Justice, 2000, 28(1), 13.
See Also
Filed Under: Drinking and Driving