Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence

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Driving under the influence (DUI) (driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunken driving, drunk driving, operating under the influence, drinking and driving, drink driving, impaired driving) is the act of driving a motor vehicle
Motor vehicle

 with blood levels of alcohol

Alcoholic beverage

 or taking other drugs. This is a criminal offense in most countries. Details of the offense depend upon the jurisdiction, and may include merely being in physical control of a motor vehicle while being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...

s do not necessarily involve actual driving of the vehicle.

In most jurisdictions a measurement such as a blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content , also called blood alcohol concentration, blood ethanol concentration, or blood alcohol level is most commonly used as a metric of alcohol intoxication for legal or medical purposes....


, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence.

Many states in the U.S. have adopted truth in sentencing
Truth in Sentencing
Truth in sentencing is a collection of different but related public policy stances on sentencing of those convicted of crimes in the justice system. In most contexts truth in sentencing refers to policies and legislation that aim to abolish or curb parole, so that convicts serve the period that...

 laws that enforce strict guidelines on sentencing, different from past practice where prison time was reduced or suspended after sentencing had been issued.

The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), driving under intense influence (DUII), driving while intoxicated (DWI), "operating under the influence" (OUI) operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Other less common acronyms include operating a vehicle (while) impaired (OVI), and Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI). Many such laws apply also to boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

, piloting aircraft, or cycling, possibly with different BACs than driving. In some jurisdictions there are separate charges depending on the vehicle used, such as BWI (bicycling while intoxicated), which may carry a lighter sentence.


 or jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...


Blood alcohol level (BAC)

With the advent of a scientific test for blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content


The validity of the testing equipment/methods and mathematical relationships for the measurement of breath and blood alcohol have been criticized. Studies suggest that certain substances and factors, such as mouth alcohol or recent exposure to industrial compounds can lead to false-positive chemical results. Other studies have suggested that breathalyzers may be inherently biased against women.

Driving while consuming alcohol may be illegal within a jurisdiction. In some it is illegal for an open container of an alcoholic beverage to be in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle or in some specific area of that compartment. In some it may be illegal to be asleep in the driver's seat of a vehicle without any intention to drive.

The German

Medical Psychological Assessment
The Medical Psychological Assessment is a German measure ruled by law for persons seeking to regain their driving licence.-History:The first standards mandating the MPA for certain prospective drivers were legally adopted in 1955...


George Smith, a London

 taxi driver, was the first person to be convicted of drunk driving, on 10 September 1897. He was fined 25 shillings, which is equivalent to £71.33 in 2005 pounds.

Field sobriety testing

Historically, guilt was established by observed driving symptoms, such as weaving; administering field sobriety tests, such as a walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds; and the arresting officer's subjective opinion of impairment. The officer must correctly perform the Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) that are approved by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). There are only three FSTs approved by NHTSA. The US Department of Transportation explains the Field Sobriety Test as, "a battery of three tests administered and evaluated in a standardized manner to obtain validated indicators of impairment and establish probable cause for arrest." Despite the considerable steps by the NHTSA to create standardized guidelines for the administration and scoring of field sobriety tests, some studies question the reliability of these tests, even when executed according to the guidelines. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first per se
Illegal per se
The term illegal per se means that the act is inherently illegal. Thus, an act is illegal without extrinsic proof of any surrounding circumstances such as lack of scienter or other defenses...

law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually supplanted the earlier purely judgmental ones. Limits for chemical tests are specific for blood alcohol concentration or concentration of alcohol in breath.

Drunk driving law by country

Blood alcohol content

 is allowed before a conviction is made. Since at least 2004, it has been illegal in all US states and the District of Columbia to drive with a BAC that is 0.08% or higher. Canada adopted similar laws in the 1990s.

See also

  • Breathalyzer
    A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content from a breath sample...

  • Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring
  • Driving license
  • Drunk drivers
    Drunk drivers
    Drivers operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol are commonly referred to as drunk drivers. When charged with this as a crime, it may either be referred to as a DUI or a DWI , where a DUI is generally considered to be a lesser crime. Studies have been performed to identify...

  • DWI court
  • Expungement

  • Mothers Against Drunk Driving
    Mothers Against Drunk Driving
    Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...

  • National Motorists Association
    National Motorists Association
    The National Motorists Association is a grassroots organization whose revenue is membership- and donation-driven. It was created in 1982 to "to represent and protect the interests of North American motorists", and advocates a "Motorist Bill of Rights".-History:The NMA, originally called the...

  • Remove Intoxicated Drivers
    Remove Intoxicated Drivers
    Remove Intoxicated Drivers is one of the oldest national organization in the United States fighting alcohol impaired and drunk driving...

  • Sobriety checkpoints

External links

  • Impaired Driving, MedlinePlus
    MedlinePlus is a free Web site that provides consumer health information for patients, families, and Health care providers. The site brings together information from the United States National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health , other U.S. government agencies, and...

  • Report A DUI: a non-commercial website for the anonymous reporting of drivers under the influence.