DUI/DWI
LAWS
as of June 2005
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 |
|
Alabama |
0.08 |
90 days |
no
|
no/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Alaska |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver |
|
Arizona |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Arkansas |
0.08 |
120 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
-- |
|
California |
0.08 |
4 months |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Colorado |
0.08 |
3 months |
yes |
yes/no |
driver/passenger (eff. 7/1/05) |
|
Connecticut |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
no/no |
-- |
|
Delaware |
0.08 |
3 months |
no
|
yes/no |
-- |
|
District
of Columbia |
0.08 |
2-90
days |
yes |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Florida |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
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 |
|
Georgia |
0.08 |
1 year |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Hawaii |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Idaho |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Illinois |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Indiana |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Iowa |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 90
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Kansas |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/no |
driver |
|
Kentucky |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes
|
driver/passenger |
|
Louisiana |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Maine |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
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 |
|
Maryland |
0.08 |
45 days |
yes |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Massachusetts |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Michigan |
0.084 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Minnesota |
0.08
(eff. 08/01/05) |
90 days |
after 15
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Mississippi |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/yes |
-- |
|
Missouri |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/yes |
-- |
|
Montana |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Nebraska |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Nevada |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 45
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
New
Hampshire |
0.08 |
6 months |
no |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
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 |
|
New
Jersey |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
New
Mexico |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
New York |
0.08 |
variable5 |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
North
Carolina |
0.08 |
30 days |
after 10
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
North
Dakota |
0.08 |
91 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Ohio |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 15
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Oklahoma |
0.08 |
180 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver |
|
Oregon |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Pennsylvania |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Rhode
Island |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver |
|
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 |
|
South
Carolina |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
South
Dakota |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
no/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Tennessee |
0.08 |
-- |
-- |
yes/yes |
driver6 |
|
Texas |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Utah |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/no |
driver/passenger |
|
Vermont |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Virginia |
0.08 |
7 days |
no |
yes/yes |
-- |
|
Washington |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30
days |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
West
Virginia |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30
days |
yes/no |
-- |
|
Wisconsin |
0.08 |
6 months |
yes |
yes/yes |
driver/passenger |
|
Wyoming |
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 The 0.08 per se BAC law in Michigan contains
a sunset clause which states that the legal BAC will revert to 0.10 on
October 1, 2013.
5 In New York, administrative license
suspension lasts until prosecution is complete.
6 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.
©1996-2005,
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute
Last modified: 22-Dec-2003 |
