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The Real Consequences of Drunk Driving

If you drive while impaired, you could get arrested, or worse — be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death. Many provinces have administrative penalties related to drunk driving. These penalties include immediate driver’s licence suspensions and heavy fines. These penalties are often imposed for blood-alcohol concentrations exceeding 50 mg/dL, rather than the Criminal Code of Canada prohibition of 80 mg/dL.

A person who is convicted of a first-time DUI in Illinois will face a license suspension of at least one year, a fine of up to $2,500, and potential jail time of up to one year. Keep in mind that penalties may be more severe if anyone is injured, the DUI is a second or subsequent DUI offense, or other factors that make the crime more serious apply . These results are related to the hypothesis of optimistic bias, which states that drinkers are overly optimistic about probabilities of adverse consequences from drink. In more recent years, several studies have shown that more than a third of adults and half of teenagers admit they have driven drunk. Generally, the rate of arrests for driving under the influence is very low and even those drivers who were arrested were mostly “first-time” offenders . Those with multiple DUI offenses will be prosecuted to the fullest ability of the law, varying by each state. These penalties will be much worse if you cause an accident while drunk, especially if there are any injuries or fatalities.

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Lowering legal BAC limits for convicted drinking and driving offenders, as three States have done (Hingson et al. 1998). Protect those who have been drinking and want to drive by taking away their keys. Remember, their anger towards you is temporary, but the consequences of drunk driving can be permanent.

In Washington state, for instance, BUI laws recognize that intoxicated cyclists are likely to primarily endanger themselves. Accordingly, law enforcement officers are empowered only to protect the cyclist by impounding the bicycle rather than filing DUI charges. Drivers who have smoked or otherwise consumed cannabis products such as marijuana or hashish can be charged and convicted of impaired driving in some jurisdictions. If you are a minor who is arrested for DUI, you may face the same potential penalties as an adult. If you are a minor convicted of a DUI, you may be penalized even if you had a blood alcohol content measurement far below .08%; in most states the legal limit for drivers under the age of 21 is .02% or no alcohol whatsoever.

The Short-Term & Long-Term Consequences Of Drinking & Driving

The median age of drivers involved in fatal crashes with alcohol is 32 as compared to 39 for drivers involved in fatal crashes without alcohol. Driving under the influence of alcohol not only presents a danger to the driver, but also to every other motorist or pedestrian near the roadway. Being intoxicated impairs ones judgment, vision and reaction time, all of which is critical when operating any motor vehicle.

If any questions arise related to the information contained in the translated website, please refer to the English version. 0.04% or higher if you consequences of drinking and driving a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license. Apart from the financial aspects of a DUI arrest, there may also be social ramifications. Court appearances, community service requirements or jail time lead to lost time and lost wages — possibly job loss. A DUI conviction can also impede attempts to get a job, and cause embarrassment to your family.