Posts Tagged blood alcohol content
What Everyone Should Know About Minnesota DUI Laws
Posted by in Uncategorized on February 25th, 2010
Minnesota used to have some of the more lenient DWI laws, but in 2005 the legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) was dropped from .10 to .08. This means it is easier to be convicted of a DWI offense in Minnesota, so drivers need to use even more caution and avoid driving after drinking.
If you are arrested for driving drunk in Minnesota for the first time, you will be asked to submit to a chemical test. In this state you have the right to talk to a lawyer before submitting to the test to determine if it is the best course of action. If you are convicted, you will pay up to $3,000 in fines. You could also end up in jail for up to 90 days. DWI offenders are required to attend alcohol education classes, and they will lose their licenses temporarily. A qualified Minnesota DWI attorney will be able to help you fight for the least strict consequences after your DWI arrest.
In Minnesota, DWI law allows prosecutors to ask for stricter penalties if there are three or more aggravating factors in a particular case. Aggravating factors include extremely high BAC, injuries caused, and children present in the vehicle. It these are present, the fines increase to up to $10,000 and jail time increases to up to five years.
Read more about Minnesota DUI Laws as well as Iowa DUI Laws and other Drunk Driving Consequences
Article Source: What Everyone Should Know About Minnesota DUI Laws
California DUI attorneys
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 16th, 2010
There have been an increasing number of deaths and injuries caused by underage driving in the United States. California DUI laws are very strict so as to reduce the number of DUI cases. Any person under the age of 21 driving with blood alcohol content of 0.01% or more will be convicted with DUI charges. DUI laws have severe punishments and penalties depending upon the impact of the crashes. The state enforces a zero tolerance policy for underage driving. Underage DUI are said to be a severe crime in the United States as it will cause serious damage to both the individual and the society.
Underage drivers with blood alcohol content level of 0.05% or more may be charged with both underage DUI and regular DUI and also be subjected to arrest for DUI. All the underage DUI convictions will lead to suspension of driving license for up to one year and also includes severe penalties as well. DUI convictions will also affect one?s education and career too. If you are convicted for DUI charges, you will have to list them in your college and career applications, failing which may lead to dismissal of employment or education. If you are arrested for DUI charges, it is advised that you seek legal help as soon as possible.
California’s Basic Traffic Laws
Posted by in Uncategorized on December 19th, 2009
The state of California has the highest traffic-related deaths across the US for the past several years, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In a separate study conducted by Fox News, three interstate highways in California were included in the top 10 most dangerous roads in the country last year.
With this finding, the state has some of the strictest traffic laws in the US.
• No-texting law
Enacted in January 2009, this legislation prohibits drivers from using communication devices to send, write, and read text messages.
• Drunk driving law
It is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent and higher. However, this drunk driving law is stricter for people with DUI offenses and drivers aged 21 years and younger.
It is also illegal to carry alcoholic beverages inside a car, unless these are full, unopened, and sealed.
• Zero tolerance law
People who are under DUI probation are prohibited to drive if they have a BAC level of 0.01 percent and higher. If this law is violated, their driver’s license will be suspended.
• Speed law
Most highways in California have a speed limit of 65 mph. However, the speed limit is lower (usually 25 mph) in residential places, areas near schools, playgrounds, and churches, business district, and construction site.
The state also implements the “Basic Speed Law” that prohibits people from driving too fast for the condition. This law, which is based on common sense, requires drivers to travel at a speed that will depend on the volume of traffic, speed of other motorists, road condition, visibility, and weather condition.
For example, drivers should limit their speed even in a freeway if there is a hailstorm.
• Seat belt law
People are prohibited to drive a car if they and their occupants do not wear a safety harness. A driver will also receive ticket if an officer finds that one of the passengers aged 16 years and younger is not wearing a seat belt.
Meanwhile, children under the age of six or weigh less than 60 lbs. must be secured in child restraint system that meets the federal safety standards.
(Note: It is illegal to place a child who is less than 20 lbs. in front seat which is equipped with airbag system.)
• Right-of-way rules
This traffic law, which promotes safety, is based on common sense and courtesy. According to traffic experts, car drivers should respect the right-of-way of other road users including pedestrians, bicycle riders, and motorcyclists.
• Hit and run law
If drivers are involved in a car accident, they must stop and help their victims. If they do not stop, they may be charged with hit and run which is considered a federal offense.
To help you deal with issues involved in Los Angeles freeway accidents, consult with our skilled accident attorneys. Visit our website and avail of our free case evaluation.
Save Thousands of Dollars with Drunk Driving
Posted by in Uncategorized on September 7th, 2009
Have you recently been under arrest and charged with a DWI offense in Minnesota? Due to this, you may be considering what changes this may have on your life and the life of those around you and what potential detrimental effects it could lead to. You may not yet be considering how extremely expensive this charge will be, for example hiring criminal lawyers is potentially a very expensive thing to carry out. Consulting with a Minneapolis DUI lawyer could be one of the best ways to save thousands of dollars and staying away from basic criminal lawyers.
If you are convicted of a DWI offense, you will face substantially large fines, very high insurance rates, and the possibility of a jail sentence, which would lead to the loss of wages (if working). There is also a good chance that a conviction could affect your career in a negative fashion in the future, or even the job you currently possess. Consulting with a DWI attorney, instead of a drunk driving lawyer or representing yourself, could result in a reduction or a potential dismissal of charges, which would lead to big savings.
To begin with, a Minneapolis DUI lawyer will first study your arrest, the initial stop, the testing procedures that were used, and the evidence which was gathered. Even if you test with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.08%, that does not mean you are without any legal way out. A DWI attorney, the best in Minnesota that is, can potentially have that evidence deleted from your charges.
An experienced DWI attorney will have a great working affiliation with the judicial system. He or she will have experience working with the judicial system, which is made up of prosecutors or judges. Much needed insight is gained from this knowledge and relationship and guides them into how to best defend your charges, or talk on your behalf to ask for a reduction in charges.
How do you decide if the DWI attorney is the top attorney in Minnesota? When you search for an attorney to help you with your drunk driving charge you want to search for the following:
Your Minneapolis DUI lawyer ought to be a criminal defence attorney. He or she must have previous experience in successfully defending clients against DWI charges. The attorney ought to be a member of an organization, for example the National College for DUI Defence, or Drunk Driving Defence. A DWI attorney should have a team supporting his defence or your charges. This team should ideally be made up of investigators, other attorneys and expert consultants.
If you are facing charges for a DWI offense in Minnesota, you may be worried or aggravated. You don’t need to feel incapable. By taking an energetic role in your defence and finding a DWI attorney, you can change your situation. What could have been a pricey and life altering event can simply become a distant memory as you move forward with your future, so forget about criminal lawyers and hire a DWI attorney!
Bob Samson is author of this article on Minneapolis Criminal Lawyer.
Find more information about Minnesota Criminal Defense here.
Article Source: Save Thousands of Dollars with Drunk Driving
How Breathalyzer Results Play Into DUI Cases
Posted by in Uncategorized on September 7th, 2009
The Breathalyzer is a device used to determine the blood alcohol content of a person and is a common tool police officers use to evaluate drivers suspected of driving impaired. Most people know this, but are a bit less clear on how the breathalyzer results fit into a prosecution.
The breathalyzer is a device that people assume can deduce the blood alcohol level of anyone tested. This isn’t entirely true. The test measures the amount of alcohol in a particular breath. This represents an estimate of the blood alcohol content, but not an absolutely accurate figure. The fact the results represent only an estimate plays into how the results are used in a prosecution.
DUI prosecutions are controlled by state law. Every state has different laws, but most have some similar approaches. The magic number with blood alcohol content is .08. If you “blow” this or something higher, most states will legally designate you as drunk per se. This is a very important determination, but what does this mean and what does it not mean?
A DUI case is brought by the state or city against you, the defendant. The prosecutor has the burden of proof in the case. This means the prosecutor must provide evidence proving the elements required to get a conviction. The defense need do nothing other than try to poke holes in the evidence. Well, that is until you blow .08 or higher.
The burden of proof changes in many states when a person blows .08 or higher in a breathalyzer test. This means that you are assumed to have been impaired when driving. The prosecutor doesn’t have to prove this element of the crime. Instead, the burden switches to you, the defendant, to prove that the test results should be ignored. This can be done by showing the test was given incorrectly, the machine was not calibrated or by simply convincing the jury the device is so inaccurate that any results can’t be trusted.
Failing a breathalyzer test is definitely not a good thing, but it is not the end of the world. A quality defense lawyer can meet the burden of proof to show the results are tainted and win the case.
Thomas Ajava writes for DUIAttorneyLeeCounty.com – locate a top DUI attorney in Lee County to fight your DUI arrest.
Article Source: How Breathalyzer Results Play Into DUI Cases
DUI Cases – The Merits of the Breathalyzer or Lack Thereof
Posted by in Uncategorized on September 5th, 2009
The tests used to determine drunk driving issues have become so familiar that few really think about them. The breathalyzer, for instance, is accepted as a carte blanche way for determining blood alcohol levels. Ah, but is it?
The breathalyzer has been with us in one form or another since the 1920s. Of course, it wasn’t called a breathalyzer at that time. The “breathalyzer” name was actually a particular product that was offered by…wait for it…Smith & Wesson. Yes, the gun maker! Much like Coke, the name slowly came to be used for the entire range of products that measure blood alcohol content via the breath.
The first effective device was known as a drunkometer. The device was the size of a shoe box and the offending person blew up a small balloon. The air in the balloon was then passed through an acidified potassium solution. If alcohol was present, the solution would change color. The more alcohol present, the more the color changed. It was an effective test, but not much good when it came to proving whether someone had consumed enough alcohol to be impaired. I won’t even get into the question of how color blind police officers were impacted!
Modern breath analyzers use various forms of chemical analysis. They do not actually determine the exact amount of alcohol in a person’s blood. Instead, they make an estimate based upon alcohol molecules that are present in a particular breath. Yes, an estimate. When a person is found to blow .07 [legal] or .08 [DUI], the figure is not exact. Given the fine margins, it seems a very questionable practice particularly when you consider how the law works.
In most states, the result of the breathalyzer has immense impact on the determination of guilt. If you are found to be above the stated blood alcohol content level under law, then the person is presumed in court to be legally impaired per se. The burden is then on the defendant to prove the analyzer results are wrong. This is an important switch for a device that isn’t all that accurate.
How accurate is the breathalyzer? Well, it depends on a host of issues. It can be affected by the temperature, the calibration, the administration abilities of the officer and so on. Most interesting, the person being tested can increase the reading by holding their breath. Alternatively, hyperventilating or exercising strenuously for 30 seconds will reduce a blood alcohol content reading by as much as 25 percent!
The breathalyzer is a standard testing device used in traffic stops where drunk driving is considered a possible issue. It is important to understand, however, that these devices are not absolute accurate and can be successfully challenged in court.
Thomas Ajava writes for GraysHarborDUILawyers.com – where you can find Grays Harbor DUI lawyers as the name suggests.
Article Source: DUI Cases – The Merits of the Breathalyzer or Lack Thereof
Drunk Driving Laws Invoke Prohibition Again
Posted by in Uncategorized on September 1st, 2009
Prohibition was the great golden effort to eradicate the immorality associated with drinking alcohol in its many forms. The movement was an utter failure as history shows, but modern drunk driving laws seek to pursue the same lessons in many ways.
Drunk driving laws are discussed in such ways that the public is often misled. Are you for anyone going out, getting smashed and killing anyone in their car? Of course, not. Neither am I and neither is any politician. Under this simple guise, however, laws are passed that are simply so vicious that they act as an effective form of prohibition on alcohol consumption.
What is the magic number in drunk driving cases? Everyone knows it. The magic number is a .08 blood alcohol content level. If you are found to have a “BAC” over this level, you are considered a drunk driver and in a lot of trouble. The truth, of course, is .08 is a fairly low level which equates to three or four drinks depending on what you are having. There are many people that can consume this and not be impaired at all. Still, a level must be set so let’s just say submit that .08 is a good level.
You go to a wine party and you have two glasses of wine and some appetizers. You drive home with your wife after the party and are pulled over. The breathalyzer shows you have a blood alcohol content level of .04. You’re home free, right? Well, the officer doesn’t agree. He or she takes a look at you and says you are impaired. Off to jail you go.
How can this be considering you blew .04? In most states, the police officers can charge you with driving while impaired. This simply means that in the subjective opinion of the police officer, you had consumed enough alcohol that your driving was impaired. The testimony of the officer combined with the fact you had some alcohol in your system is enough to convict you.
This situation arises all the time across the country. It usually leads to a serious court battle. Sometimes the driver wins. Sometimes the driver loses. Even when he or she wins, they end up paying huge attorney fees and emotional costs. It is an empty and hollow win to say the least.
This driving while impaired standard is effectively a form of prohibition. While we all agree people that are drunk should not drive, a person who has had one or two glasses of wine in an evening shouldn’t be included in this punitive movement across this country of ours.
Thomas Ajava writes for DUIDefenseLawyerFortMyers.com – your online resource for locating a DUI defense lawyer in Fort Myers that will fight as though they were the ones on trial.
Article Source: Drunk Driving Laws Invoke Prohibition Again
DUI – Blood Alcohol Content and the Effect of Time
Posted by in Uncategorized on August 31st, 2009
If you drive, you’ve probably heard at least a little about the infamous blood alcohol content standard. The magic number these days for using it to determine whether a person is driving drunk is .08. That being said, the issue of how consuming alcohol results in such a measurement over time is very misunderstood.
Let’s say you go to a swinging party. Your friends have already been going at it and the place is a bit wild. You do two shots and drink two mixed drinks in one hour. You are a male. Is your blood alcohol content over .08 or is it not? The answer is highly dependent on time.
The stomach and intestines are the primary absorption organs in the body. They break down materials into usable substances and move them into the body. It is a rather obvious thing to say that this process happens much quicker when consuming pure alcohol versus consuming alcohol with food. Food simply is going to take longer to break down.
So, what impact does all this have on your blood alcohol content level? Well, you are not going to be over .08 blood alcohol level if you do two shots in five minutes. It takes longer for the alcohol to enter your system. Two shots and two mixed drinks in an hour may do it, but you might need more time. What if we measure your blood alcohol content two hours later? You’ll definitely be over the limit because sufficient time will have passed for the alcohol to be consumed.
What about the notion that eating while drinking will slow things down? Well, it is true. A person drinking just plain alcohol might not reach their highest blood alcohol level until a whopping 3 hours after they finish drinking. Add food to the process and that time range can be extended to five or six hours.
This should make you think. How many times have you gone to a party and then reasoned that you were okay to drive because you had not had a drink in two hours? While you might have felt okay, your blood alcohol level would have been through the roof! If pulled over, you would’ve blown a number on a breathalyzer that would have caused you a host of problems and a night in the pokey.
Thomas Ajava writes for DUIAttorneyNorthGeorgia.com – where you can find a DUI attorney in North Georgia to fight your DUI arrest.
Article Source: DUI – Blood Alcohol Content and the Effect of Time
Charged With DUI in Twin Cities for the First Time
Posted by in Uncategorized on July 17th, 2009
According to Minneapolis DUI law, a drunken driving charge is a misdemeanour. The potential sentencing of this offence could be thirty days imprisonment and a fine of $1,000, plus the Department of Public Safety imposes its own penalties in Twin Cities.
Due to the ownership of a driver’s license in Minnesota considered a privilege, and not a right, the Department of Public Safety has the authority to enforce whatever conditions it feels is appropriate in order for an individual to acquire a driver’s license. One condition involves the obligation that every driver presents a blood alcohol test when asked by the law enforcement. Failure to do this may results in what is recognized as an “Implied Consent” violation and, eventually, a suspension of your drivers’ license.
The same suspension occurs if someone submits a blood alcohol result and is deemed to have been in control of a vehicle whilst having blood alcohol content above .08. Although there can be arguments against this, The Minnesota Supreme Court has addressed all opinions time and again and continues to allow the Department the right to impose such penalties even in Twin Cities.
Normally, the officer will clip a drivers’ license and provide them a temporary seven day driving permit. When the driving permit happens to expire, the license holder’s license is suspended for ninety days. First time offenders will be pleased about the fact that they can request a work permit, but have to wait to do so (until two weeks have gone since the original date of the suspension). The conditional license allows for the use of a vehicle for certain activities, such as going to or from work, to alcohol treatment classes, doctor visits and to look after family members. In order to get a conditional license, the accused must congregate with a representative from the Department of Public Safety and give details of their condition. If the agent agrees that a conditional license is apt, it will be issued.
Once the period has passed for the revoking of the driving license, an individual has to reapply for their license. Reinstatement fees are required, plus having to retake specific parts of the Minnesota Drivers’ Test aimed towards alcohol and its consequence on the body. The cost connected with obtaining a new license can be expensive. However, good Minneapolis DUI lawyers will often analyze the basis for the stop in an effort to throw out the revocation.
In criminal court, first time offenders are required to partake in a MADD impact panel, go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, partake in a chemical use evaluation and complete a class based on the impact of using alcohol and driving. Often, our attorneys are successful in suspending any jail time, and have the fine reduced drastically. Even though a decrease or removal of imprisonment is achieved, the court continues to hold jail time over a defendant’s head throughout a phase of probation. A infringement of any terms and conditions that have been forced by the court will result in the carrying out of some of the jail sentence.
Bob Hayward is author of this article on Minneapolis DWI Lawyer.
Find more information about Minneapolis Criminal Lawyer here.
Article Source: Charged With DUI in Twin Cities for the First Time
