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Driving under the influence of alcohol, drunk driving, or drink-driving, is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and sometimes a bicycle or similar human-powered vehicle) after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. In addition to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of other drugs, a third "DUI" offense consists of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs causing or contributing to the impairment need not be illegal, but can consist of lawfully prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Anti-drunk-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drunk-driving is responsible for a large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while impaired (also DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs (DUI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs or drunk in charge of a vehicle. Such laws may also apply to boating, or piloting aircraft. Historically, guilt was established by subjective tests of the driver's impairment, such as difficulty reciting the alphabet or walking a straight line, together with the arresting officer's subjective opinion. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first per se law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually supplemented the earlier purely judgmental ones. Today's statutes commonly provide for two separate and distinct criminal offenses. The first is the traditional "drunk driving" offense, consisting of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Evidence to support this crime generally comes from the officer's observations (erratic driving, slurred speech, unsteady gait, etc.), performance on field sobriety tests, and a legal (and generally rebuttable) presumption of intoxication from a blood alcohol test result over the legal limit. The second offense is the more recent so-called "per se" offense: rather than focusing on impairment the crime consists entirely of having a given blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of driving, regardless of the individual's tolerance to alcohol. Both offenses may be charged, and the defendant may be convicted of both; if a blood alcohol test result was not obtained, only the traditional "DUI" offense will be charged. BAC is most conveniently measured as a simple percent of alcohol in the blood by weight. It does not depend on any units of measurement. In Europe it is usually expressed as milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. However, 100 milliliters of blood weighs essentially the same as 100 milliliters of water, which weighs precisely 100 grams. Thus, for all practical purposes, this is the same as the simple dimensionless BAC measured as a percent. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 US states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08% or higher. Driving while consuming alcohol is generally illegal, though driving after drinking remains legal. In some jurisdictions it is also 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. United States All 50 states now have two statutory offenses *. The first is the traditional offense, variously called driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI) or operating while intoxicated/impaired (OWI). The second and more recent is the so-called illegal per se offense of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. The first offense requires proof of intoxication, although evidence of BAC is admissible as rebuttably presumptive evidence of that intoxication; the second requires only proof of BAC at the time of driving. An accused may be convicted of both offenses, but may only be punished for one. It is also a criminal offense in all states to drive a vehicle while under the influence of drugs (DUID), or under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs; the drugs themselves need not be illegal, but can be prescription or even over-the-counter. This offense requires evidence of impairment as a result of the drugs or drugs and alcohol, although some states have passed laws making driving with the mere presence of certain drugs a criminal offense. Some states also include a lesser charge of driving with a BAC of 0.05%; other states limit this offense to drivers under the age of 21. In all states, it is a criminal offense for drivers under the age of 21 to drive with a BAC of .01% (in some states, .02%). The blood-alcohol limit for aircraft pilots is 0.04%, and for commercial drivers 0.04% or 0.05%, depending upon the jurisdiction. The various versions of "driving under the influence" generally constitute a misdemeanor (punishable by up to one year in jail) . However, the offense may be elevated to a felony (punishable by a longer term in state prison) if the incident caused serious injury (felony DUI) or death (vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide), or if the defendant has a designated number of prior DUI convictions within a given time period (commonly, 3 prior convictions within 7 years). California, which is being followed by a growing number of states, now charges second-degree murder where the legal state of mind of malice exists -- that is, where the defendant exhibited a grossly reckless indifference to the lives of others *. A severe punishment for drunk driving is already under way in the state of Ohio for DUI offenders convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide to qualify for capital punishment. The new laws are a result of groups of friends and family of drunk driving victims engaging in active campaigns to get the same justice as victims of other forms of murder. The logic of these laws is that drunk driving is premeditated, and because aggravated vehicular homicide is a felony in both states, the act of killing someone in the commission of such a crime qualifies for a charge of felony murder in the first degree. However, it is unlikely that anyone would be executed due to constitutional issues regarding the Eighth Amendment. This penalty is in addition to the regular DUI and court charges. Penalties for driving under the influence commonly include incarceration, fines, driver's license suspension or revocation, mandatory attendance at DUI schools, community service, probation and, increasingly, installation of a breath alcohol ignition interlock device. Canada Driving under the influence of alcohol is a generic term for a series of offences under the Canadian Criminal Code. The main offences are operating a motor vehicle while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, contrary to section 253(a) of the Canadian Criminal Code, and operating a motor vehicle while having a blood alcohol concentration of greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, contrary to section 253(b) of the Criminal Code. The offences are usually investigated by the police coming across a driver with either an erratic driving pattern or who has been pulled over. The police make a demand that the driver give a sample of his breath into an approved screening device, which will determine the driver's blood-alcohol concentration on a preliminary, non-evidentiary basis. If the police believe on reasonable and probable grounds that the driver is committing an offence under section 253 of the Criminal Code, the police can demand that the driver go to the police station to give samples of his breath for an approved instrument test, which would be used to prosecute the driver. The punishments for impaired driving or driving over 80 are: On Dec 15, 2005, Charly Hart of Watford, Ontario, a man with a 35-year history of impaired driving which included thirty-nine convictions, was on the occasion of his latest such conviction sentenced to six years in prison, the most severe penalty ever handed down in Canada when the offence did not involve a fatality, and the maximum sentence permitted under the law.* Australia Road laws are state based, but all states have set the maximum BAC at 0.05%. In Australia, there are laws that allow for a police officer to stop any driver and perform a random breath test without reason. There are also other restrictions for Victorian drivers: Europe Note: "Zero" usually means "below detection limit". Turkey’s 0.05% limit only applies to passenger-less compact vehicles; for all others it’s 0.00%. In Germany the 0.05% limit is effective unless you’re arrested for another traffic offence, in which case it crops to 0.03% You should be aware that 0.05% is the equivalent of one small beer, and that in many parts of Europe police don’t need probable cause to stop and breathalyze you; they’re permitted to make random stops. Conviction brings at the very least a large fine. You can be sentenced to jail for six months in the U.K. and Ireland, and in France anywhere from two months to two years. In all cases your license will be suspended and you’ll be banned from driving in the country in which you were convicted. However, at least for U.K. residents, that suspension abroad does not stop you continuing to drive at home. Americas Africa Caucasus Middle East East Asia Western Pacific Central Asia South Asia South-East Asia Philosophical perspectives An overview of the philosophical approach to DUI, especially with respect to ethical and pedagogical concerns, is James B. Gould's "A Sobering Topic: Discussing Drunk Driving in Introductory Ethics" in 'Teaching Philosophy' 21:4 (December 1998), 339-360. Gould's central point is that drunk-driving offers an ethical case that, for most people, is clear-cut in the fundamentals, familiar from everyday life, and extraordinarily complicated in the details. In other words, it's ideal for philosophical analysis at the introductory level. He cites the few articles by academic philosophers that he could find: See also | |||||||
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