DWI IN NEW YORK

As a member of the Lawyers Assistance Program Committee at the Nassau County Bar Association, one area that has begun to interest me, and which I am preparing to study and concentrate in, is Driving Under The Influence, a huge problem in Long Island as we read our daily papers. The following discussion about DWI in New York is from the website of the DUI Foundation and their link is above on the title of this post:

" New York State DWI, DUI

Each state has the power to determine and impose penalties for drivers who violate traffic laws, which includes driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

In New York, all drivers must take an alcohol test if a police officer asks for one. This is known as the implied consent law, which means that anytime a person drives a vehicle, he or she consents to an alcohol test. The test determines how much alcohol is in a driver's bloodstream. A driver is considered impaired when his or her blood alcohol content is 0.08% or higher.

Drivers under the age of 21 are subject to the zero tolerance law, which lowers the legal blood alcohol content level to 0.02%. If it is determined that a person has a BAC level of 0.15% or above, he or she is subject to the enhanced penalty policy, which means that the penalty for violation increases in severity.

For a driver's first alcohol-related offense, his or her license is suspended for 90 days. For the next two offenses, the driver's license is suspended for six months each time. New York does not require jail time after the second offense, whereas other states do.

New York requires alcohol education in order for a driver's license to be reinstated. After the second offence, the driver risks the possibility of having his or her vehicle confiscated. However, in many states, the penalties and fines associated with drunk driving can be mitigated if an alcohol education program is completed. Normally, these programs offer drunk driving prevention education and assess the offender's drinking habits. If the offender is determined to be alcohol-dependent, he or she can be ordered to participate in counseling.

Installing an ignition lock in repeat offender's cars is a possibility in the state of New York. An ignition lock is a machine that is connected to a car's ignition and checks the driver's blood alcohol content level. The driver has to blow into the machine to start the car and do so from time to time while the car is running. If alcohol is detected, the car either does not start or turns itself off.

New York allows hardship licenses if an offender's license is suspended. The offender is allowed certain driving privileges, such as driving to work, in case a hardship is present, such as being the family's sole breadwinner.

New York is very strict about prohibiting open alcoholic beverage container inside a vehicle. Neither the driver nor the passenger may be in possession of an open bottle or can of alcohol. Some states only make it illegal for the driver to have an open container."