How to Find Arkansas DUI Records

Statistics are grim: every year in the United States thousands of people are killed or permanently crippled in road accidents that involve drunk drivers. For this reason, all the 50 states of the US and the District of Columbia have adopted a stricter body of drunk driving laws and harsher penalties since August 2005. These laws are in place in Arkansas too, where drunk driving has caused loss of life, injuries, and damage to property.

What is a DUI Charge

A DUI offense is a “driving under the influence” (of alcohol and/or drugs) charge that is brought against a person if s/he is found guilty of driving a vehicle after consuming alcohol, illegal drugs, or certain types of prescription and non-prescription medications. A DUI offense may involve not only automobiles like cars, trucks, and bikes, but also all vehicles that may be used for work or recreational purposes like a boat, an aircraft, horse-drawn carriages, and farm machinery like a tractor.

Arkansas DUI Laws and Penalties

It is considered illegal to drive in Arkansas if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08% or more. This level is the standard permissible limit for most states in the US. For people who are less than 21 years of age it is illegal to drive a vehicle if your BAC level is 0.02% or more. The individuals with a license for driving commercial vehicles in Arkansas will be charged with committing a DUI offense if they are found driving a commercial vehicle when their BAC levels are 0.04% or more.

Arkansas adheres to the Implied Consent Law. As per the guidelines laid down by this law an Arkansas driver has agreed to undergo a blood, breath, or urine test to determine the level of alcohol in his/her body, if s/he is asked by a peace officer while conducting a DUI investigation. Refusal to take the test will result in penalties like imposition of heavy fines and suspension of the driving privileges.

The penalties for an Arkansas DUI conviction are a mandatory prison sentence, imposition of heavy fines, suspension of driving privileges or being issued a restricted license that allows you to drive only to and from work or school, the placement of an ignition interlock device in the vehicle, participation in an alcohol education program and escalation of insurance rates or possible disqualification from your insurance coverage. These penalties may vary depending on whether the crime is a repeat offense or not and the presence of aggravating factors like resisting arrest or exceeding the legal speed limit.

Why Do You Need to Search Arkansas DUI Records

Even the implementation of the strict DUI laws and the enforcement of the harsh penalties have not succeeded in bringing down the number of DUI offenses in Arkansas. Of more concern is the fact that the DUI offenses are being repeated. This is because some drivers charged with a DUI offense drive even with suspended licenses and many convicted drivers often do not take or complete an alcohol and substance abuse education and treatment programs before they take the roads. These offenders are at risk of repeating their DUI offenses, often with fatal consequences.

You need to search the Arkansas DUI records whenever you suspect that a person driving a vehicle of being a prior DUI convict. You will also need to check the driving records of any person to verify if s/he has ever been convicted of a DUI crime. This is especially necessary if you run a vehicle hire service, have a logistics company, or have just hired someone as your chauffeur. This is the best possible way you can ensure the safety of your family, your clients, employees, and the people on the road. If you are an insurance agent and your company has to pay a damage amount that has risen from a DUI crime, you will need to check the DUI records of the person involved in the crime.

Where to Search for Arkansas DUI Records

You may access the Arkansas DUI records at the Department of Motor Vehicles or from the National Driver Register (NDR) database.

The NDR is a computerized database that contains the names and related identification information of all US drivers whose licenses have been canceled, revoked, or suspended, those who have been found guilty of committing traffic violations, and those who have had charges of DUI crimes slapped on them. This information is provided by the driving license officials of all the 50 states and the District of Columbia who are a part of the NDR.

To request a driving license check at the NDR, you will need to obtain a FAA Form 8060-13 from this site: http://forms.faa.gov/forms/faa8060-13.pdf. Complete the form and submit it via US mail only, to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, ATTN: Bureau of Records, Neil Kirkman Building, PO Box 5775, Tallahassee Florida 32314.

A search report of an individual’s driving records obtained from the National Driver Register will show the current status of the driving license, information on whether the license had ever been revoked or suspended, reference to all the DUI charges committed within the past five years, and the name of the state where the DUI offense was committed within the past five years.

You may also search for the Arkansas DUI records here: http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/driverServices/Pages/default.aspx but in order to search for the DUI records from this website you would require to register. For more details you can also call 501-682-1631.

Information about Another Person's DUI Records

According to the Arkansas state laws the Driver Services Division does not release the information about the driving records to anyone other than the person  to whom the records belong to unless such individuals acquire a permission from the concerned individual and has the written consent of that individual.

The details of the driver’s records which also include the information on the DUI offenses are however accessible to the individuals who are the subject of the records as well as the law enforcement agencies, the traffic courts, government agencies and other agencies that require the information contained in these records to perform their duties.