If a person is obviously drunk, but has a BAC of .01 below the legal limit, can they still be charged with DUI, or will they just be slapped with a lot of smaller charges, like reckless driving and failure to _______?
by 
msummers10
ANSWERS: 4
-
depends on the state. most will hit you with a dui. hell, you can get hit with a dui just for driving past a miller lite billboard. ok... that was a joke.
-
Depends on the state, but... Usually the law is against driving under the influence of an intoxicant and having a BAC above 0.08 is considered sufficient proof of that influence. There are other ways to prove that you were under the influence. For instance, if you were obviously drunk. It is hard to imagine anyone being "obviously drunk" when their BAC is below 0.01. With a BAC that low it becomes much more of a burden of proof issue at the trial, but it is possible. The basic crime here is driving while impaired.
-
Yes. the combination of BAC of .07, plus the results of the field sobriety test, is more than sufficient to arrest someone for driving under the influence. Officer observations play a major role in charging someone with dui. I stopped a vehicle for weaving all over the road. the driver was a male hispanic. i finally got him to stop. i opened the drivers door and he fell out onto the pavement. he smelled of alcohol, his clothes smelled of vomit/alcohol. his eyes were bloodshot and half mast. his speech was slurred. there was a cold 12 pack of budweiser on the floorboard and an open beer container. he could not walk without assistance, to my police car. I did not give this man a field sobriety test. i did not give him a BAC test. why? he was not capable of performing either. He plead guilty in court.
-
Oh yeah. I know in FL, you can get a DUI even if your not at the "legal limit". Accordig to the books, if you are intoxicated (noticably) then you are eligible for DUI. I know a girl that got one with a BAC of .02 and the "legal limit" here is .08. She was what they call "visualy intoxicated". Because everybody is different and alcohol works in one person differently than in another.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC