Drunk Driving Laws

August 2012

All states define driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent as a crime, although specific laws and penalties can vary substantially from state to state.

Administrative license suspensions allow law enforcement to confiscate a driver's license when he or she fails a chemical test. Several states grant limited driving privileges – such as driving to and from work – to drivers whose license has been suspended if the driver is able to demonstrate special hardship.

Learn More About Drunk Driving

State Laws
   Drug Impaired Driving
   Sobriety Checkpoints

Issue Brief

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

Related Links

All states have some type of ignition interlock law, in which judges require all or a portion of convicted drunk drivers to install interlocks in their cars. These devices analyze a driver's breath and disable the engine if alcohol is detected.

Federal programs transfer surface transportation funding to theSection 402 highway safety grant program for states that fail to adopt open container and repeat offender laws.

Alcohol exclusion laws let insurance companies deny payment for treatment of drunk drivers' injuries, but they have limited doctors' abilities to diagnose alcohol problems and recommend treatment. Some states have repealed such laws.

Highlights of current state drunk driving laws include the following:

• All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some sort of ignition interlock legislation.
  • 17 states (and 4 California counties) have made ignition interlocks mandatory or highly incentivized for all convicted drunk drivers, even first-time offenders.
• 42 states, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islandsall have some type of administrative license suspension on the first offense.
• 48 states, the District of Columbia and Guam have increased penalties for drunk drivers found guilty of driving with a high BAC (often .15 or higher).

NOTE: GHSA does not compile any additional data on drunk driving laws other than what is presented here. For more information, consult the appropriate State Highway Safety Office.

State	Inc. Penalty for High BAC	Admin. License Susp. on 1st Offense	Limited Driving Privileges During Susp.	Ignition Interlocks	Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions	Open Container Laws*	Repeat Offender Laws*	Alcohol Exclusion Laws Limiting Treatment
						*Meeting Federal Requirements
Ala.	.15	90 days		Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
Alaska	.15 (at judges' disc.)	90 days	After 30 days	Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle impoundment			Yes
Ariz.	.15	90 days	After 30 days	Mandatory for all convictions	Immobilization or impoundment	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ark.	.15	6 months	Yes	Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle confiscation		Yes	Yes
Calif.	.15	4 months	After 30 days	Discretionary Mandatory for all convictions in Alameda, Los Angeles, Tulare and Sacramento counties (pilot project)	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation	Yes		Yes
Colo.	.17	3 months	Yes	Highly incentivized for all convictions		Yes	Yes
Conn.	.16	90 days	Yes	Mandatory for all convictions			Yes
Del.	.16	3 months		Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions	Vehicle sanction and license plate impoundment		Yes	Yes
D.C.	.20 and .25	2-90 days or until disposition	Yes	Discretionary		Yes	Yes
Fla.	.20	6 months for DUBAL	After 30 days	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) convictions	Impoundment, vehicle forfeiture	Yes	Yes	Yes
		12 months for refusal	After 90 days
Ga.	.15	1 year	Yes	Mandatory for repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guam	From .08 to .10					Yes	Yes
Hawaii	.15	3 months	After 30 days	Mandatory for all convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
Idaho	.20	90 days	After 30 days	Discretionary		Yes	Yes	Yes
Ill.	.16	6 months	After 30 days	Mandatory for all convictions	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes
Ind.	.15	180 days	After 30 days	Discretionary	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes
Iowa	.15	180 days	After 30 days	Discretionary		Yes	Yes
Kan.	.15	30 days		Mandatory for all convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
Ky.	.18	30 - 120 days	Yes	Discretionary	Impoundment	Yes	Yes	Yes
La. 1	.15 and .20	See footnote		Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle confiscation			Yes
Maine	.15	90 days	Yes	Discretionary	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes
Md.	.15	45 days	Yes, under certain circum- stances	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) convictions		Yes	Yes
Mass.	.20 (applies to ages 17-21)	90 days	Yes	Mandatory for repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mich. 2	.17	See footnote	After 30 days	Mandatory for high BAC convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minn.	.20	90 days	After 15 days	Mandatory for high BAC and repeat convictions	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation, special plates/ markings	Yes		Yes
Miss.		90 days		Discretionary	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation		Yes	Yes
Mo.	.15	90 days	After 30 days (restricted)	Mandatory for all convictions (eff. 10/1/13)	Vehicle forfeiture or impoundment (cities w/ 100,000+ allowed to enact ordinance)			Yes
Mont.	.16			Mandatory for repeat convictions	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation	Yes		Yes
Neb.	.15	90 days	After 30 days	Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle immobilization, continuous alcohol monitoring	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nev.	.18	90 days	After 45 days	Discretionary		Yes	Yes
N.H.	.16	6 months		Mandatory for high BAC convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
N.J.	.10			Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
N.M.	.16 (w/ mand. jail on all offenses)	<21: 1 yr.; >21: 6 mo.	Immediately w/ Ignition Interlock	Mandatory for all convictions	Immobilization of vehicle for driving while revoked	Yes		Yes
N.Y.	.18	Variable	Yes	Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
N.C.	.15	30 days	After 10 days	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes
N.D.	.18	91 days	After 30 days	Discretionary	Vehicle confiscation, license plate removal	Yes	Yes	Yes
M.P.		30 days - <6 months				Yes	Yes
Ohio	.17	90 days	After 15 days	Discretionary	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation or immobilization, restricted plates	Yes		Yes
Okla.	.15	180 days	Yes	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15), repeat convictions, and refusals		Yes	Yes	Yes
Ore.	.15	90 days	After 30 days	Mandatory for all diversions		Yes	Yes
Pa. 3	.16		See footnote	Mandatory for repeat convictions		Yes	Yes	Yes
R.I.	.15			Judicial discretion on 3rd or subsequent conviction	Judicial discretion on 3rd or subsequent conviction	Yes
S.C.	.15	1 month (for >.15 BAC)	Yes	Mandatory for repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
S.D. 4	.17	See footnote	Yes	Discretionary		Yes
Tenn.	.20			Mandatory for high BAC and repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation		Yes	Yes
Texas	.15	90 days if .08 or greater; 180 days for refusal	Yes	Mandatory for repeat convictions	Vehicle confiscation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Utah	.16	120 days		Mandatory for all convictions	Impoundment	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vt.		90 days		Discretionary	Impoundment, vehicle confiscation	Yes		Yes
V.I.		Variable	Yes		Revoke license plate	Yes	Yes
Va.	.15 and .20	7 days		Mandatory for all convictions	Vehicle confiscation		Yes	Yes
Wash.	.15	90 days	With an ignition interlock driver’s license	Mandatory for all convictions	Mandatory tow and 12 hour impound	Yes
W.Va.	.15	6 months	After 30 days	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions			Yes	Yes
Wis.	.17, .20 and .25	6 months	Yes	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions	Impoundment, vehicle seizure/ forfeiture	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wy.	.15	90 days	Yes	Mandatory for high BAC (>.15) and repeat convictions				Yes
Total States	48 + D.C., 1 Terr.	42 + D.C., 2 Terr.	36 + D.C., 1 Terr.	Mandatory For All (17) High BAC (5) Repeat (6) High BAC & Repeat (9) Discretion-ary: 13 + D.C.	Varies	39 + D.C., 3 Terr.	37 + D.C., 3 Terr.	37

IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

   In October of 2004 the provincial government of British Columbia passed Bill 66: The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, also known as the Drinking Driving Initiative. The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act gave police additional tools to take drinking drivers off the road, including:
24 hour impoundment of vehicles for drivers who receive a 24-hour roadside prohibition;
Increased fines for driving while prohibited/suspended and extended vehicle Impoundments for up to 60 days for a first offence and 90 days for subsequent offences; and
Requirement for chronic offenders and other high-risk drivers to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles that requires a breath sample before the vehicle will start.
    Also, for the first time in British Columbia, drivers with a Criminal Code drinking driving conviction, and other repeat offenders, had to complete a rehabilitation program before they were allowed to drive again. This program is called the Responsible Driver Program (RDP). All referrals into this program come from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV).
    Under the 2004 legislation, there were six possible "triggering events" which might result in OSMV making a referral into the RDP:
An impaired driving criminal code conviction;
Two 90-day administrative driving prohibitions within 5 years;
Three 24-hour driving prohibitions within 5 years;
A combination of 90-day prohibitions and 24-hour suspensions;
Drivers with 3 or more criminal code convictions who have served a minimum of 5 years in the Indefinite Licence Suspension program;
At the discretion of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
    Then in September of 2010 the provincial government proclaimed a new Motor Vehicle Act which includes new impaired driving legislation. Under this legislation drivers found to have a BAC of over .05% are subject to various consequences. With regard to the Responsible Driver Program, drivers who are found to have BACs in the range of .05% to .08% three times in a five year period, or who are found to have a BAC over .08% once, are referred to the Responsible Driver Program.
   Once referred to the Responsible Driver Program participation in the program is a requirement for those who wish to either maintain or renew their driving licence. Drivers who enrol in the RDP pay the government a fee of $ 880 plus HST.
    Once registered in the Responsible Driver Program, participants complete an intensive telephone interview and are then assigned to one of two alternatives:
Those deemed not to be of significant risk of re-offending are referred to an intensive 8-hour education program.
Those deemed to be of greater risk of re-offending are referred to a 16-hour counselling program.
   Participants whose level of alcohol or other drug use indicates that an addiction has been established, are encouraged to contact appropriate community addiction services to further decrease their risk of re-offending.
    Participants in both the Education and the Counselling program learn basic information about alcohol, drugs and their impact on driving ability. The program focus is on preventing the harm that results from combining alcohol or other drug use and driving, and the objective is to separate these two activities, not eliminating them.