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August 24, 2010
Drunk-Driving
             
 
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DUI/DWI Terms and Definitions

 
 

OUI
OUI is operating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants. "Intoxicants" are any substance, including alcohol and both illegal and prescription drugs. A person is "under the influence" if their mental or physical faculties are impaired to the slightest degree, regardless of whether it affects the a actual operation of the vehicle.

Excessive Drunkenness
A state of drunkenness in which a person is so far deprived of reason and understanding that he or she is incapable of understanding the character and consequences of an act.

Administrative License Revocation (ALR)
Simply put, the DMV automatically revokes your license when you are arrested for DUI as part of its duty to regulate drivers’ licenses. (The court may also take your license, and may also fine or jail you.)

Impairment
Well known is the fact that the consumption of alcohol can cause impairment. Perhaps less recognized is that fact that impairment rises gradually at lower levels but dramatically at higher levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Public Intoxication
Public intoxication is the appearance of a person who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol in a place open to the general public. In most American jurisdictions, public intoxication is considered a misdemeanor

Drunk driving penalties
penalties the court could impose are: (1) 6 months in the county jail: (2) $1,000 fine plus up to an additional 1,950 in penalty assessments; (3) 6 months driver's license suspension; (4) Your car impounded for 30 days. Second, third and fourth offenses within 7 years are punished by increasingly more harsh penalties.

Failed Sobriety Test
A sobriety test is a method of determining whether a person is intoxicated. Among the common sobriety tests are coordination tests and the use of mechanical devices to measure the blood alcohol content of a person’s breath sample.

Breathalyzer
Breathalyzer is the trademark (of National Draeger, Inc. which acquired the Breathalyzer division from Smith and Wesson) for the most commonly used breath-testing device in New Jersey. The Breathalyzer converts breath alcohol into a blood alcohol reading.

Field Sobriety Tests
Field Sobriety Tests sometimes referred to by the acronym FSTs, are tests administered by the police to purportedly assess intoxication.

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
Horizontal gaze nystagmus is a naturally occurring involuntary jerking of the eyeballs as they gaze side to side. It is theorized that when a person is impaired by alcohol, the nystagmus (the jerking of the eyeballs) is magnified or pronounced.


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Did You Know?    
 
 
Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (while driving intoxicated)
One state defines this as Class A Felony If any of the following conditions are present: Two or more prior (a) DUI convictions or Vehicular or (b) Vehicular Assault convictions or (c) any combination One prior Vehicular Homicide A BAC of .20 or greater at the time of the vehicular homicide and has one (1) prior DUI or Vehicular Assault offense

 


  Newsroom  
 


News about DUI & Drunk Driving cases in South Carolina and nationwide:

The Facts Of Impaired Driving
Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injure someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2005). 
Read more >


Impaired Driving - Public Awareness Programs

Five hundred billboards statewide dislpayed the DDP logo and an anti-DUI message. The DDP logo and message have also been used to promote ...

Read more >


Ralph Hingson Joins NIAAA
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director Ting-Kai Li, M.D., announced...
Read more >


More DUI Drunk Driving News >

 
 

Drunk Driving Terms

 


Today's Terms

Child endangerment

Definition:
Most states now have some kind of child endangerment statute. Currently, 27 states have statutes that create special sanctions for cases of driving under the influence while the offender is transporting a child at the time of the offense.

Reasonable suspicion

Definition:
The officer must have what is legally termed a "reasonable suspicion," based on something unusual that is actually observed about the way a person is driving. This is a very low standard and it can be satisfied by virtually anything which appears out of the ordinary and that might be a sign of a driver being under the influence. In addition, during holiday seasons, police officers typically set up field sobriety checkpoints where they routinely stop every driver who passes through the checkpoint.

Arraignment

Definition:
Sometimes referred to as a “first appearance.” This date is typically located on the DWI Summons & Complaint near the “court appearance required” box that should be checked off. The arraignment is a formal procedure where rights are read, charges are read and explained, and a plea (guilty or not guilty) is entered.

More DUI Attorney.com Terms >

 

DUI/DWI Resources

 


Search Drunk Driving resources in our resource center:

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DUI/DWI Hot Topics

 
Topics Related to DUI/DWI:

  • Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
  • Breathalyzer Test
  • Failed Sobriety Test
  • Legal State BAC Limits

More DUI/DWI Topics >

South Carolina Drunk-Driving Attorney

 
If you live in the following cities and need legal help you should contact our Attorney as soon as possible:

  • Abbeville
  • Aiken
  • Anderson
  • Beaufort
  • Belton
  • Bennettsville
  • Bluffton
  • Camden
  • Charleston
  • Chester
  • Clemson
  • Clover
  • Columbia
  • Conway
  • Darlington
  • Dillon
  • Easley
  • Elgin
  • Florence
  • Fort Mill
  • Fountain Inn
  • Gaffney
  • Gaston
  • Georgetown
  • Goose Creek
  • Greenville
  • Greenwood
  • Greer
  • Hartsville
  • Hilton Head Island
  • Inman
  • Irmo
  • Ladson
  • Lancaster
  • Laurens
  • Lexington
  • Marion
  • Moncks Corner
  • Mount Pleasant
  • Murrells Inlet
  • Myrtle Beach
  • Newberry
  • North Augusta
  • North Charleston
  • Orangeburg
  • Pickens
  • Piedmont
  • Rock Hill
  • Seneca
  • Simpsonville
  • Spartanburg
  • Summerville
  • Sumter
  • Taylors
  • Travelers Rest
  • Union
  • Walterboro
  • West Columbia
  • York
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