Cassandra Savoy, Esq. OP/ED
WHATEVER YOU DO: DON’T DRIVE DRUNK IN NEW JERSEY!!
As we pass the lazy days of summer and as we start to mingle and mix, young people may want to remember that New Jersey has some of the strictest penalties in the country for those who drive while intoxicated!
A person can be convicted of driving while intoxicated for operating or even attempting to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .08% or greater. To be convicted, you need not be actually driving your car. There just needs to be evidence that you intend to drive your car.
For example, if you are parked at the curb behind the wheel asleep, with the car key in your pocket, you can be convicted of driving while intoxicated. Not because you were actually driving, but because the circumstances suggest that you might/intend to drive the car. It is notable that “driving while intoxicated” includes not only the ingestion of alcoholic beverages but narcotics, hallucinogens or any substance that will reduce your mental faculties and physical capabilities.
As if that were not bad enough, a person can be convicted without proof of actual intoxication if the driver’s blood alcohol level is .08% or more. This is called “per se DWI.” This is determined by a calculating at how many drinks it would take you to reach a certain blood alcohol level given various factors. So, don’t go blabbing to the police, “I only had two beers!”
What typically happens is that the police stop you and ask you out of the car to take various balance tests: Walk a straight line. Close your eyes and touch the tip of your nose with your index finger. Walk backward in a straight line. Failing the tests allows the police officer to impound your vehicle for twelve hours and request a breathalyzer test. The result of the test serves as practically proof positive of driving while intoxicated.
There is virtually no judicial discretion when it comes to DWI penalties. Almost every aspect is required by the statute. So do not think you will make a jaw dropping deal with the prosecutor. And while DWI penalties in the state have always been stiff, they just got exponentially worse.
For example, if your blood alcohol was between .08% and .10%, upon conviction you received a fines and penalties of $500 – $600. ($250 – 400 fine VCCB, DDEF and SNSF penalties of $50, $75 and $100. Your license is suspended. As if the fines were not enough, you are required to sign up for 12 to 48 hours in the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC) Program which will cost you another $75.
And the topper is that beginning December 2019, the penalties for driving while intoxicated got worse (or better depending on your perspective). The Legislature found that because a majority of drunk drivers, including first-time offenders, often continue to drive with a suspended license, even first-offenders need to install an ignition interlock device into their vehicle.
An ignition interlock device (IID) is a device about the size of a cell phone that is connected to a motor vehicle’s starter system. The IID works by measuring the blood alcohol concentration/content (BAC) of the driver before and during the operation of the vehicle. The driver will be required to blow into the ignition interlock device in order to start their vehicle. Provided their BAC is below the programmed level, the vehicle will start as normal.
If the driver’s BAC is higher than the preprogrammed level that was set by the state, the vehicle will not start. And, by the way, the device must be installed by professionals and the cost is between $70 and $150 + monthly leasing/maintenance cost of about $75 give or take. The worst of it is that you will never have your license reinstated unless you complete all of the penalties, pay all the fines. In other words, your license will not be restored if you never install the interlock device which may really be problematic if, in point of fact, you really don’t own a car even if you do attend IDRC and even if you do pay all the fines and penalties.
Proponents of the device claim is that the device will actually cause people to change their behavior…stop drivers from driving while intoxicated and save hundreds of lives. Proponents claim that 1 individual is killed by a drunk driver every 49 minutes and that approximately 29% of all vehicular deaths are alcohol-related accidents. Proponents further claim that installation of the interlock device with a registered blood alcohol level of between .08% and .10% will only have their licenses suspended for 30 days rather than three months. They would be allowed to drive with an IID during the next three- to six-month period when their license would have otherwise been suspended.
These penalties are draconian! If you get a little tipsy, call Uber!!
