Texas dui
DUI - Driving Under the Influence (or DWI - Driving While Intoxicated) is treated by Texas courts as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending upon the situation and the offender's prior driving record. The applicable Texas Penal Code section states that, "A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place."
According to the Texas legislature, a person is intoxicated or under the influence when he:
• does not have the normal use of mental or physical ability due to the consumption of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances or any other substance into the body; or • has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The law allows for intoxication by way of any intoxicating substance. It's no defense that the intoxicating substance was a prescribed drug. If any substance, legal or illegal, deprives a driver of the normal use of mental or physical ability, legal action will be taken.
Dui Laws:
Texas has a zero tolerance law against drunken driving. The punishment for DUI differs depending upon the number of times you have been convicted:
If first offense (and/or situations):
• Fine of up to $2000
• 72 hours to 180 days in jail.
• Suspension of drivers license for 90 days up to 1 year
If second offense (and/or situations):
• Fine of up to $4000
• 30 days to 1 year in jail
• Suspension of driver's license for 180 days up to 2 years
If third offense (and/or situations):
• Fine of up to $10,000
• 2 to 10 years in jail
• Suspension of driver's license for 180 days up to 2 years
DUI under 21:
If you are under the age of 21 and it's your first DUI offense, it may result in (and/or situations):
• Fine of up to $500
• 20 to 40 hours of community service
• Suspension of driver's license for 60 days
• Attendance in alcohol-awareness classes
If you are under the age of 18, the court will require either your parent or guardian to be there with you at all your court appearances.
DUI while with a child passenger:
If you?re driving while intoxicated and have someone below the age of 15 in your vehicle, you may be punished to imprisonment in jail anywhere from 180 days to 2 years. In addition, you may also be fined up to $10,000.
DUI with an accident where severe bodily injury has occurred:
This crime, which is called intoxication assault, may result in you serving jail time for minimum 2 years up to a maximum of 10 years. Furthermore, you may be fined up to $10,000 as well.
DUI where a death has been caused:
This crime is referred to as intoxication manslaughter and may cause you to spend anywhere between 2 years up to 20 years in jail. Moreover, you may also be fined up to a maximum of $10,000.
Refusal to take a breath test:
If you refuse to take any type of a breath test (to check whether you are drunk or not), your license will be suspended. If your driving record shows no alcohol or drug related convictions within the previous 10 years, it will result in your license being suspended for 90 days. But if you do show at least one or more alcohol or drug related convictions within the previous 10 years, your license suspension period will be for one year.
If license gets suspended:
If your license gets suspended and you dont have any previous alcohol related license suspensions, you can qualify for an occupational driver's license. But keep in mind that this does not allow you 24/7 driving privileges. The judge can only allow you anywhere between 4 to 12 hours of driving per day (since its an occupational license, its mainly granted to travel back and forth from work, but if you have other important needs requiring driving, such as court ordered child visitation, the judge may grant you permission for that as well).
Conequences:
A DUI (or any other alcohol related offense) definitely affects your car insurance. Insurance companies base their rates on many factors, including your driving record. Therefore, a DUI conviction will cause insurance companies to either increase their rates drastically or to just drop you from their insurance.
One more obvious thing is that a DUI conviction certainly doesn?t look good on your permanent record. It might result in difficulties to get a loan or even a job.
And the main thing is that driving while drunk is to play with lives. Be it yours or other passengers on the road, drunken driving may take precious lives. Just because of ones mistake of not being sober while driving might lead to someones life taking a drastic change for the worse. So don?t drink and drive. Be safe and let other people be safe
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