Articles

New Drunk Driving Laws: Drinking is Hazardous to your License

Everyone in the legal system who has anything to do with the new drunk driving laws is in agreement: drinking and driving is hazardous to your license.

Starting January 1, 1999, tough new laws clamping down on drivers who drink came into effect. If you or someone you know got picked up driving after New Years with alcohol on the breath, you must already know what I am talking about.

Prior to January 1, 1999, the law was already strict. The legal blood alcohol content standard was 0.10 per cent, and punishments included the impoundment of your vehicle up to one year in jail, fines up to $8125.00 and suspension of your driver's license (the length of which depends on how much blood alcohol you tested for). These laws were previously discussed in my column "Don't Drink Alcohol and Drive", published in the Federal Way News on September 16, 1998.

The new laws are even tougher. The legal blood alcohol content standard has been lowered to 0.08 percent. Your license can be immediately suspended for 90 days to 3 years upon failure of the breathalyzer test. You can be ordered to undergo electronic home monitoring for up to 150 days for a repeat offender. Your sentence can be increased if you have had a prior DUI offense within the last 7 years.

You can even be ordered to install an ignition interlock device which will not allow you to start your car if the device detects alcohol on your breath. And although you still may be offered a deferred sentence in exchange for treatment for alcohol or drug addiction, this is now only a one-time option, and the DUI "deferred prosecution" will remain permanently on your driving record.

What this means is that, after 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 1999, anyone caught driving while under the influence of alcohol may be in deep trouble. Many lawyers and judges feel that Washington State's laws may be the toughest in the country.

There are some sobering statistics to back up the need for such laws. 266 people died in alcohol related automobile accidents last year, and more than 37,000 people were criminally charged with drunk driving.

Does all this mean that someone accused of drunk driving should simply roll over? The answer is usually no; an attorney can be very helpful in reducing the impact of such an arrest. In a few cases, it may still be possible to avoid any criminal sanctions at all. For example, it does occasionally happen that the police simply make a mistake in the identity of the driver – for example, where someone has somehow gained access to your driver’s license.

In other cases, the police occasionally make procedural or technical errors which make it difficult or impossible to get a conviction. Finally, sometimes the machines used to measure blood alcohol content are actually defective. It may also be possible in some cases to have a DUI charge reduced or amended to a lesser charge.

Anyone charged with a DUI offense should remember that they have an absolute right to an attorney to represent them in both the criminal matter and the licensing matter. After a suspect has been arrested, the suspect must be given a reading of their constitutional rights, including the right to counsel. This must be done prior to the mouth check or the 15-minute observation procedure.

Any evidence obtained by the police after a denial of constitutional rights (like the right to an attorney) may be suppressed. The suspect does not have an absolute right to an attorney prior to the breathalyzer test, but must be given a "reasonable opportunity" to contact an attorney. The results of the breathalyzer are sometimes successfully attacked by producing lay witnesses who testify that, although the driver had a blood alcohol content exceeded 0.80 percent, the driver’s coordination and ability to drive was not substantially effected.

The presentation of a defense for drunk driving can be expensive. However, some people who are arrested really don’t have much choice but to fight the charges. For example, if you are a taxi or truck driver and are arrested for DUI in your private automobile, a conviction might very well wipe out years of productive future income.

Like with all new laws, the exact effect of the administration of the law by courts, police, and the Department of Licensing remains to be seen. This much is clear: no one who is facing a DUI charge should try to "do it yourself". If you are arrested and charged under the new laws, probably the best advice that I can give you is: "get a good lawyer."