DUI Laws

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By jasonstevens

DUI laws, or laws about driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs are common in all states in the USA and in many other countries as well.  These are usually strict laws that are aimed at protecting innocent people and the driver himself from tragedy that can occur when someone who is not completely coherent is behind the wheel of a car.  In the hands of someone who has been drinking a car goes from a convenient form of transportation to a massive speeding weapon of death and injury.  You can search online to find the precise DUI laws for your area, but the best policy is to always avoid mixing alcohol and driving and then you will always be safe.

In many areas, driving under the influence is legally defined as having 0.08% blood alcohol content.  This means that almost 0.1 percent of your blood is alcohol.  This can be tested using a blood test or more conveniently using a breath test.  In some areas, sobriety and driving under the influence can be tested using an examination of the eyes or a roadside sobriety test which tests a driver's ability to perform a few exercises that would be easy for a sober person but much more difficult for anyone who has been drinking. 

A common question is how much can I drink so that I stay below the legal limit?  The best answer is that this is a bad question: the safest policy is never to mix drinking and driving at all, and if you are planning for how much you can drink but stay legal, you are asking for problems.  Your driving and response times can be inhibited even a blood alcohol level that is lower than the legal limit.  It's also a difficult question because it will depend on so many factors: The main ones are what is your body weight, and what else have you had to eat and drink in parallel with alcohol.  For a small girl on an empty stomach, a couple of drinks may be enough to put you over the limit.  For a bigger guy who ate a huge steak dinner, he may be able to drink a lot before reaching the legal limit.

The results of breaking DUI laws and getting caught can be huge.  It's very common to lose your license temporarily or permanently.  Your car insurance rates will also go through the roof based on a DUI conviction.  If you are convicted, this is typically a felony charge that may have a large fine or jail time, and can even make it difficult to get a job in the future. The results are typically so bad that you should really never consider drinking and driving.

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