How long is your record affected by a DUI?

The penalties for drinking and driving are serious. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles reports these grim statistics:

• Of all the fatalities in New York, 1 in 3 involves impaired or intoxicated drivers and pedestrians.
• As your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) rises, so does your risk of a crash. You’re four times as likely as a non-drinking driver to cause a crash if your BAC is 0.08%. With a BAC of 0.16%, you’re 25 times as likely to cause a crash.
• Drivers who are under 21 are nearly three times as likely as other drivers to be involved in a fatal crash related to alcohol.

Drunk driving’s impact on society is great – hurting the innocent victims of inebriated drivers, and the drivers themselves. The economic and social impacts are a secondary burden.

The crimes

Drunk driving is a criminal offense, so you’ll likely be arrested and then go to court to face a criminal law judge. New York prosecutes those who commit the following crimes:

• DWI: Driving While Intoxicated. This applies to drivers who have a BAC of 0.08% or higher or who demonstrate other evidence of intoxication.
• DWAI: Driving While Ability Impaired (by alcohol). Having a BAC of less than 0.08% doesn’t mean you’re OK to drive. You may be convicted of a DWAI with a BAC of between 0.05% and 0.07%, or if you show other evidence that you are impaired.
• DWAI/Drugs: Driving While Ability Impaired (by a drug other than alcohol). It’s not just booze that affects your driving ability, so this law covers any substance that could make you a dangerous driver.
• Chemical Test Refusal. If a cop asks you to, you’re required to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test to find out your BAC. If you refuse, at the very least your license might be revoked and you’ll have to pay a $500 civil penalty.
• Zero Tolerance Law. It’s illegal for anyone under 21 to drive with a BAC of 0.02% and above.

Arrest & conviction

Upon arrest for an alcohol-related driving offense in New York, your license will automatically be suspended. Your license will remain suspended until your case is disposed. If convicted, the minimum license suspension is six months retroactive to your date of arrest.

As a first offense, and assuming no accident or chemical breath test refusal on your part, you may be offered a “deal” by the DA that involves a plea to a traffic infraction for driving while impaired. The punishment will vary but will include a program, some fines, and a license suspension, but hopefully no jail time. Although such a plea is considered a violation of the law, rather than a “crime”, this disposition of the case will be discoverable by your employers. Furthermore, such a plea has vast consequences if you are re-arrested in the future for the same type of offense, which will likely result in the DA’s taking a hard-line stance requesting jail time.

Effect on driver record

A conviction for an alcohol-related driving offense will remain on your New York driving record for 10 years.