District of Columbia law identifies a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent and up to make a DUI arrest. A blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent marks an individual as too impaired to drive. Those that are below this limit can also be prosecuted if their driving is harmful to others. DUI offenses that are given for blood alcohol content percentages under 0.08 percent usually include those under 0.04 percent.
Those who have blood alcohol content percentages over 0.04 percent can be charged with an offense as a commercial vehicle driver. The District of Columbia also maintains laws for driving while intoxicated under the influence of any kind of controlled substances, including cocaine, marijuana, inhalants, or other illegal drugs.
DUI Punishments
Contents
The punishment for DUI offenses depends on the number of previous offenses. The District of Columbia has basic prior offense statues stating that prior offenses will increase the punishments for current offenses. The punishments for first-time DUI offenses includes driver’s license suspension for at least six months, a maximum of ninety days in jail, and a fine from three hundred dollars to one thousand dollars.
Second DUI offenses can earn punishments of one year of driver’s license suspension, a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine from one thousand dollars to five thousand dollars. A third DUI offense in DC can earn punishments of two years of a suspended license, a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine between two thousand dollars and ten thousand dollars.
Driving Under the Influence for Minors
The District of Colombia has no blood alcohol percent for minors. Those under the age of twenty-one will be charged with a driving under the influence offense no matter what their blood alcohol content percentage is. Some states set minor DUI offenses at 0.02 percent, but the District of Columbia has a zero tolerance law for minors in the district boundaries.
DC Implied Consent
Under District of Columbia law individuals are allowed to resist a blood alcohol content test. However under the law an individual who refuses a driving under the influence or a driving while intoxicated test can have his or her driver’s licenses suspended for up to one year. This is for the first refusal.
Subsequent refusals can increase suspension times.
Drunk Driving Classifications
Washington DC has different classifications for drunk driving that are based on blood alcohol content percentages. A driving while intoxicated charge will follow if a blood alcohol content percentage is 0.08 percent or higher and the individual is over twenty-one years of age. A driving under the influence charge will follow if an individual was driving a motor vehicle while under alcohol influence.
These circumstances do not rely on blood alcohol content percentages and are based on driver impairment and danger to others. An operating while impaired charge will follow if an individual is operating a motor vehicle while impaired by any kind of alcohol. The court will prove the offense by presenting evidence, such as physical appearance, driving patterns, field sobriety tests, and blood alcohol content tests.