Illinois DUI Penalties and Laws

The driving under influence laws in all the states of the United States start with a blood alcohol concentration limit. Driving under influence or DUI is the act of operating a vehicle while one’s abilities are lowered due to the effect of alcohol or drugs or both. The blood alcohol concentration limit states the percentage of alcohol in the bloodstream of any individual that prohibits him or her from driving.

The DUI laws of Illinois state that any person with a blood alcohol concentration or BAC of 0.08 percent or higher is prohibited from operating any motor driven vehicle. For drivers under 21 years of age the blood alcohol concentration limit is 0.02 percent and for commercial drivers it is 0.04 percent.

When any vehicle is stopped by the police suspecting drunken driving, the blood alcohol concentration of the driver is measured by various tests such as the breathalyzer test, blood test and urine test. The Implied Consent Law in the state of Illinois says that any individual driving in the state agrees to take the tests if stopped by the police. Non-cooperation with the police in this matter may lead to arrest of the individual.

Illinois DUI penalties are jail sentence, fines, suspension of driver’s license, taking part in community service, and installing the ignition interlock device. An ignition interlock device is one of the ways to stop a DUI offender from repeating his or her crime. This device requires the driver to breathe into it before starting the vehicle. If the device registers a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher, the vehicle does not start.

Penalties for DWI

The penalties for a DUI conviction in the state of Illinois get harsher with the number of times a person gets convicted. For a first DUI conviction in Illinois, the penalties include a jail sentence of at most one year. If the driver was driving with a passenger below sixteen years of age, six months are added to the jail sentence. The offender has to pay a fine of up to $2,500. If the offender was found to register a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent or more, a minimum of $500 is added to the amount of the fine he has to pay. If there was any child below sixteen in the vehicle while driving, the amount of fine that the offender has to pay is increased by at least $1,000.

The DUI offender’s driver’s license is suspended for a minimum period of one year. The court may also order the offender to install a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device in the car. The offender has to take part in community service for no less than 100 hours if he or she was found to have a BAC of 0.16 percent or more. If there was any child passenger in the car at the time of driving, the duration of community service is extended to 25 days. The offender’s vehicle registration is also suspended if a person is convicted of DUI for the first time.

Second DUI Convictions

For a second DUI conviction in the state of Illinois, the offender may have to stay in jail for a minimum of one year. The offender also has to participate in 240 hours of community service. If a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent or more was registered at the time of arrest, two days will be added to the jail time. If an individual is convicted of drunken driving with a child passenger for a second time, the case is classified as one of felony aggravated DUI. In this case, the offender is sentenced to jail for one to three years.

The amount of fine that he or she has to pay does not exceed $2,500. $1,250 or more is added to the amount of fine payable if the offender registered an alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent or more. For cases of felony aggravated DUI, up to $25,000 is added to the amount of fine. If the offender is convicted for a second time within twenty years of the commitment of the first crime, the driver’s license is suspended for five years or more. The offender also has to attend 25 days of community service.

Third Offense DWI

In Illinois, a third time DUI conviction is a case of Class 2 felony. Consequently, the penalties are harsher. The jail sentence is from three to seven years. With a BAC of 0.16 percent or more, 90 days mandatory are added to the jail sentence. If it is a case of felony aggravated DUI, the offender is sentenced to jail for one to three years.

The amount of the fine does not exceed $2.500. For a BAC of 0.16 percent or more, $2,500 is added to the fine. For felony aggravated DUI, paying a fine of $25,000 is mandatory. The offender is deprived of his driving privileges. The driver’s license is suspended for ten years and the vehicle registration is also suspended. In felony aggravated DUI cases, the offender also has to take part in at least 25 days of community service.

For more information on the driving under influence laws in the state of Illinois and to know about the punishments in greater detail, visit the state website at http://www.isp.state.il.us/traffic/drnkdriving.cfm. Here you will also find the penalties for a fourth or subsequent DUI convictions.

The state also has stringent laws regarding teenage drinking and driving. While drivers below 21 years of age form only ten percent of the state’s drivers, they cause about 17 per cent of all drunken driving accidents in Illinois. The penalties are a bit different for those under 21 who are convicted of DUI. The zero tolerance law declares that any individual who is under 21 and is found to drive while drunk will lose his or her driving privileges.

The DUI laws aim at reducing drunken driving and the accidents caused due to it.