Oregon DUI Basics
In the state of Oregon those who choose not to take a blood alcohol test or those who fail blood alcohol testing will have their driver’s licenses suspended anywhere between ninety days and three years. This kind of conviction is different from all other states as Oregon has a different drunken driving policy. Rather than have driving under the influence charges be somewhat ambiguous, Oregon instead places what “under the influence” means in its name.
Those who are arrested for drunken driving with be charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants charges. In Oregon intoxicants include alcohol, drugs, and a combination of alcohol and drugs together. Oregon currently has the strictest laws in the United States in regards to driving under the influence.
Circumstances
Driving under the influence, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and driving while intoxicated charges do not require an individual to be completely drunk to be charged. An individual who is merely affected by an intoxicant can be convicted.
In Oregon convictions are derived from physical control of the body and clarity of mind. This kind of affect can be caused by medication or tiredness, which can subsequently result in a driving under the influence of intoxicants charge. Charges will most often be distributed if an individual is found driving in public or on a highway, including parking lots, school premises, and bus stations. Driving under the influence charges may not be distributed on personal property or private land.
Convictions
A prosecuting attorney will provide evidence before the court that the individual was intoxicated and to what degree. Evidence will most often include the arresting officer’s testimony, driving patterns, walking abilities, speaking abilities, physical appearance, standing abilities, memory tests, and blood alcohol content levels. When an individual refuses to submit to chemical testing or sobriety testing, the court will take those actions into consideration
Oregon law also states that despite an individual’s driving patterns and intoxicated state, he or she may be arrested if his or her blood alcohol content exceeds the national legal limit of 0.08 percent. Thus whether or not an individual was too intoxicated to drive may not be a factor in a case as long as he or she has an illegal blood alcohol content limit.
Commercial drivers can be arrested for having blood alcohol contents that exceed 0.04 percent. Those under the age of twenty-one will be arrested for having any amount of alcohol in their bodies because Oregon has a zero tolerance law in regards to minors.
Punishments
Driving under the influence of intoxicants convictions depend on the number of prior offenses. A first offence can result in a one thousand-dollar fine, at least two days incarceration, one year of driver’s license suspension, eighty hours of community service, alcohol evaluation, screen programs, and ignition interlocking restriction for at least one year.
A first, second, and third driving under the influence offense is considered a misdemeanor offense with all punishments increasing with each subsequent offense. Committing driving under the influence offenses that exceed three convictions in less than ten years will be charged in a Class C Felony offense.