Penalties Imposed Under Washington DUI Law

Driving under influence (or DUI) is a punishable offense in the state of Washington. A DUI is the act of operating any motor vehicle while intoxicated with alcohol, drugs, or both in one's system.

Washington BAC Laws

According to the Washington DUI law, any adult person who is suspected of drunken driving will be cited for DUI if the blood alcohol concentration (or BAC) levels of the driver are found to be .08% or more.

In the case of minors (those below 21), a blood alcohol concentration of .02% or more will result in an arrest.

For commercial drivers, the legal BAC limit is .04% in Washington.

Washington DUI Arrest Process

If your car is stopped by the police for DUI, you will be asked to step out of the car and take field sobriety tests. You may also have to take a breathalyzer test or a blood test to determine the alcohol content in your blood stream. If your alcohol content if found to be more than the legal limit, you will be taken to jail.

Upon refusal to comply with the police, your driver’s license may be revoked. A DUI conviction also leads to the suspension of your license, amongst other penalties. The severity of the penalties for a DUI offense in Washington varies depending on the type of offense.

Washington DUI Penalties

If you are arrested for the first time in the state of Washington for DUI, you will have to stay in jail for a minimum of 24 hours. This duration may go up to one year. You may alternatively be kept under electronic home monitoring for 15 days. 

In the case that your blood alcohol level was .15% or higher, the jail sentence will be from two days up to a year. If you are kept under electronic home monitoring, it will be for a period of thirty days.

If your BAC is .08% or more, you may also have to pay a fine. The minimum amount being $865.50 and the maximum amount of fine being $5,000.

For a BAC of .15% or more, the minimum amount of fine goes up to $1,120.50, while the upper limit remains the same.

Other than jail sentences and fines, a third penalty for a DUI conviction is the suspension of the driver’s license. For those who are recorded to have a BAC of .08% or more, but less than .15%, the suspension period is 90 days. On the other hand, if you are convicted with a BAC of .15% or more, your license will be suspended for 1 year.

If you are arrested for a second time, the Washington DUI law states that your penalties will be harsher. If your BAC is higher than the legal limit, but less than .15%, the jail sentence will be from 30 days to one year. Additionally, the electronic monitoring will be compulsory and for a period of 60 days. The amount of fine that you will have to pay will be a minimum of $1,120.50 to a maximum of $5,000, and your driver’s license will be suspended for two years.

If your BAC is .15% or more at the time of a second DUI conviction, your jail sentence will be from 45 days to one year. You will also be subjected to an electronic home monitoring for 90 days. You will have to pay a fine of at least $1,545.50 to at the most $45,000, and your driver’s license will be suspended for a period of 900 days.

For a third DUI offense, the jail sentence, the electronic home surveillance period, the amount of the fine and the suspension period of the driver’s license are all higher. The maximum time that you may have to spend in jail is, however, one year and the maximum amount of fine that you will be charged is $5,000. Your license may be suspended for up to four years.

In addition to the penalties mentioned above, several offenders are asked by the court to install an ignition interlock device in their cars. This helps reduce the incidences of drunken driving, because, upon installation of this device, the driver has to breathe into the device before the ignition can be turned. The device does not start the car if it registers a BAC above the legal limit.

To know more about the penalties of drunken driving, visit the official website of the Washington State Legislature at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.61.5055.

Safety and Protection Precautions

It is also important to have a SR22 certificate under the Washington State DUI laws. The minimum coverage amounts in the state are $25,000 for injury or death of one individual in one accident, $50,000 if two persons are injured or die in one accident, and $10,000 if property belonging to others is damaged.

The Washington Impaired Driving Advisory Council is an auxiliary unit of the Washington Safety Commission that works towards enhancing the traffic safety in the state through an advanced co-ordination system.

You may visit the website of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to know more about the traffic laws in the sate at http://www.wtsc.wa.gov/research/laws.php.

Non-Residential Washington DUI Offenders

In case you are not a resident of the state of Washington, but are arrested there for DUI, the case will be put on your driving record in Washington State. In addition to this, necessary actions will be taken against you to deprive you of your driving privileges. Lastly, a copy of the case report will be processed to the authorities of the state where you have your license from.

Visit the Washington State Department of Licensing by copying http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/dui.html for additional information about Washington DUI laws.