About Driving Under the Influence

Driving under the influence, or DUI as it is commonly known, is not just incredibly careless, but also illegal in all 50 states. Driving under the influence has repercussions that are financial and sometimes deadly. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 12,998 people were killed in 2007 by drivers under the influence. DUI drivers caused almost 32 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2007. This averages out to someone being killed by a driver under the influence every 40 minutes, and one person is injured every minute.

Legal Limits

It is a crime to drive with a blood alcohol limit of .08 or higher in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A 12-ounce glass of beer has .54 ounces of alcohol. If you are a wine drinker, .54 ounces of alcohol is equivalent to five ounces of wine. Other factors such as your weight, food eaten or medications taken can affect your blood alcohol limits.

License Suspension

In all states but Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee, your license can be suspended before conviction of a DUI if you refuse to take a chemical blood alcohol level test or fail one. Many states are moving away from breathalyzer tests, which can result in arrests being thrown out of court, to blood tests. In some states such as Arizona, blood can be taken forcibly by police officers trained in a five-day course in phlebotomy.

Fines/Jail

Many states have mandatory jail sentences even for first-time offenders. Habitual Violator Laws have been adopted by many states, which can mean a felony conviction for repeat DUI offenders on their third conviction. Along with jail time, fines can be issued for driving under the influence. These fines can vary from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.

Other Costs

Except for Alabama, South Dakota and Vermont, all states may require some offenders to install ignition interlock devices, also known as breath alcohol ignition interlock devices. If you are required to install an ignition interlock device on your car, it can cost anywhere from $50 to $200. If the installation takes a long time or if you drive a luxury vehicle, it can cost even more.

Insurance Rates

A DUI conviction or a DUI-related accident can cause your insurance rates to go up. The amount varies by insurance companies. DUI accidents cost insurance companies a lot of money. In 2000, alcohol-related accidents cost insurance companies $18.5 billion dollars according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Resources

• MADD summary report on DUI statistics