A Look at DUI Laws in the United States
The laws governing Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenses vary significantly throughout the United States due to the fact that each state has its own jurisdiction when it comes to enacting and enforcing such laws. Despite these differences, however, the overarching goal in every state is the same: to protect public safety. To that end, legislators across the country work to define driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and establish prohibited behaviors behind the wheel as well as set minimum and maximum punishments for DUI convictions.
Common prohibited behaviors include operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more and refusing to participate in field sobriety tests when requested by law enforcement. The penalties for a conviction or guilty plea vary widely from state to state , with some states handing down light fines or community service while others impose significant fines, harsh penalties, mandatory alcohol education classes, license suspensions, or even jail time.
While each state is free to enact its own DUI laws and set associated penalties, many states follow the general framework established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These guidelines provide the initial road map for law enforcement officials and prosecutors to follow as they pursue DUI offenses. While not legally binding, these guidelines are the foundation upon which many states built their own DUI laws.
The Most Severe DUI States
The names of states that are reputed to have the harshest DUI penalties in the US are probably well known to most drivers. But the extent of the severity in some of these states has to be experienced to be believed. Consider these examples:
Alaska: With a ten-year look-back period, Alaskan DWI penalties can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and jail time measured in years. The $25,000 fine for a third offense may be only the beginning, since there is no limit on fines and the court can also impose restitution.
Arizona: Arizona’s Three Strike rule means that if you have three DUI convictions in 84 months, you can be sentenced to 25 years in prison for your third offense.
Tennessee: Seven years in prison and $50,000 in fines is the maximum penalty for a third DUI in Tennessee. Repeat offenders also face mandatory jail time even for a first-time offense.
Washington: A habitual violator in Washington faces a maximum of seven years in prison. A sixth or seventh offense, however, can be charged as Class B Felony auto theft or vehicular manslaughter, with a potential sentence of 20 years in prison.
Oregon: In Oregon, DUI conviction carries a minimum one-year license suspension and a maximum of two years.
Rhode Island: A DUI in Rhode Island can result in 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both. A second offense doubles the penalty. If you inflict injury while driving drunk, you can be charged with drunk driving and the related crimes of vehicular assault and reckless endangerment.
DUI Penalty Severity Factors
The severity of DUI laws may depend upon certain trends found within each state. In general, states where a greater number of individuals are arrested for DUI still tend to be tougher on DUI than states with lower rates of DUI. While the actual differences in DUI arrests between states may be small, there is a fairly consistent pattern when it comes to enforcement: states that are tough on impaired driving do so because they have particularly high rates of people who drive while impaired.
In addition to high arrest rates, some states make it a point to emphasize public safety campaigns against driving under the influence. Certain campaigns have been successful in terms of limiting DUI and other traffic violations; of course, such limitations will lead state budgets to spend less on law enforcement when dealing with DUI arrests. Other states find DUI campaigns to be cost effective; enforcement within these states thus tends to be at the forefront of the budget. The current political climate of each state may impact how much spending occurs within anti-DUI campaigns and other efforts. States that focus heavily on the tourism industry will often emphasize campaigns intended to reduce drunk driving; this, in turn, reduces the risk of accidents that result in injury or death. In contrast, the current political climate in certain states may lead local government to believe that anti-DUI campaigns are ineffective. While enforcement of certain laws may be fairly weak, that enforcement can make a major difference; for example, people may reduce their DUI behaviors significantly simply because they believe that the laws are strong enough to deter anyone else from the behavior.
Impact of the Worst DUI Laws on Deterrence
While there is some diversity in the severity of DUI laws implementing the 3-year lookback, and nationwide, we’ve come to accept that the overall trend runs toward severity. We’ve seen it in the passage of mandatory minimums and in the expansion of felony DUI penalties. Statistically, we find that increased severity of DUI sanctions results in lower incidences of drunk driving. Still, decisions to drink and drive are a multifactorial byproduct of a person’s biology, sociology, and psychology. Reviewing the factors that affect criminal deterrence will help us determine the impact of DUI laws on drivers.
In considering the impact of severe DUI laws on criminal deterrence, we look to the work of Nobel laureate Gary Becker, who provided an economic analysis of criminal behavior that we’ll use here for thought. Becker proposes that crime is a function of (1) the effectiveness of law enforcement in apprehending offenders, (2) the severity of the punishment, and most importantly, (3) the probability that a criminal will be apprehended and punished, or more generally, the enforcement risk. Yet with regard to laws and DUI offenses, we find that punishment simply cannot be increased indefinitely because the social cost might outweigh any potential social benefits that such action might provide.
Certainly, analysis supports that there is a correlation between the severity of punishment and social benefits in terms of enforcement risk. Research indicates that the perceived severity of sanctions is likely the most significant factor in acting as a deterrent. Given this, we can see why states are passing ever more stringent laws to ensure punishment is not only swift, but also severe. In perhaps the best example, in 1980, when the District of Columbia established mandatory minimum penalties for DUIs, the recidivism rate for first-time DUI offenders fell from 39 percent in 1978 to 13 percent in 1989. Although this decrease may have been a product of other factors, it does speak to the perception of severity and to heightened enforcement risk.
Yet, while it’s reasonable to expect that enhanced sanctions will further deter crimes, which would then result in additional social benefits, unfortunately , this is a slippery slope that becomes problematic when viewed on a societal scale. For example, when we consider the inverse relationship between arrests and recidivism, a state like Texas, with an arrest rate of about 20 percent per year, is more likely to be able to deter offenses than a state with a much younger population like Nebraska, which has a much lower arrest rate of about 1.7 percent per year. In Nebraska, with fewer offenses to litigate, the burden of that litigation will be carried by a smaller population of repeat offenders than a state such as Texas, where the sheer number of arrests will lead to an increase in crimes due to the fact that more repeat offenders will be charged, and, thus, incarcerated. In other words, as sanctions are increased in states with low populations and few offenses, a greater percentage of the population will have to pay the social cost. As a society, our appetite to put people into cages cannot continue to grow at this rate. This is particularly true when thinking about the additional costs associated with incarceration, diversion, and rehabilitation programs.
We accept that while the passage of increasingly strict DUI laws does correlate with lower rates of drunk driving, there is a tipping point where continued increase will not provide the expected deterrent benefits and might, in fact, contribute to criminalizing alcohol. In fact, many driving under the influence offenses are already classified as a felony, and continued legislative attempts only run the risk of criminalizing a large segment of society. For example, Georgia’s new DUI amendments include felony DUI for several different classifications: DUI with a child endangerment, for use of drugs to drive, and for a third and fourth DUI offense. South Dakota now criminalizes third offense DUI as a felony, as does Minnesota. Third time DUI convictions in Iowa are felony offenses punishable by five years of incarceration. Florida has long imprisoned repeat DUI offenders, and Wyoming will likely borrow their model to similarly punish repeat offenses. Illinois also has a history of broadly criminalizing DUI offenses, and Nevada has felony sanctions for third offenses. Only time will tell how these overly strict DUI laws will impact the social fabric.
Support Resources and Legal Help for DUI Defendants
Legal Aid and Support for Offenders in States With Harsh DUI Laws
Despite the high number of criminal implications and costs that accompany a DUI or DWI conviction, there are legal resources and support available to those that find themselves on the hook for harsh charges and penalties. Navigating the unique laws and penalties in each state requires careful study and an understanding of how to use the available resources to one’s advantage.
Whether you are a first time or repeat offender, the process of navigating the legal system and penalties can be complicated and uncertain. Reaching out to a legal aid service to determine what options are available to you is always recommended and especially crucial when dealing with a reduced tolerance state.
Legal Aid Services
Legal aid services provide low-cost and even pro bono legal representation to those who may not otherwise be able to afford representation. There are times when legal aid services have access to client funds, will provide complete representation, or provide limited representation and/or referral to other agencies that can assist with your case. It is important to remember that eligibility requirements exist for many legal aid services and are normally determined by income, household size, and assets owned. Some legal aid services require an attorney-retainer fee and some will retain funds from a legal aid trust account at the conclusion of the case.
DUI Attorneys
As with other criminal charges, attorneys who specialize in DUI will be able to provide the best chances for fair representation to reduce severity of charges and penalties. Denial of a preliminary examination within the first 21 days following arrest could cost client their license and lasting reputational problems. Experienced lawyers will immediately work to prevent evidence against you from being collected by authorities, which could range from test results to breath samples and photographs of your blood alcohol content level. If you refuse to be tested and fail a field test, your attorney will need to follow up on your behalf to prevent certain testing from being held against you during trial.
A seasoned DUI attorney will know all the processes, loopholes, and dealing with officials and law enforcement to effectively figure out whether a plea bargain or dismissal of the case is possible. Working with a DUI attorney prevents you from spending hours poring over each lane violation, speed limit violation, or other potential charges and afford you the opportunity to stay connected with your career or educational opportunities.
Future of DUI Laws
As technology continues to advance and the landscape of transportation changes, so too will DUI laws and enforcement. For instance, while we haven’t seen a widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles in daily life, it is widely believed that the day will come when the only people driving cars are those that have had too much to drink . Only time will tell if that technology will come to fruition while other factors like public transportation and evolving transportation trends make these laws a moot point for DUI.