Arizona DUI Law

I got my first ticket a ton years ago. While I got the ticket for drunk driving (in a new town where they are nuts about speed limit signs I was not attentive enough to), the driving school manual and tests covered everything having to do with driving. In the case of you who are looking for Arizona drunk driving info, for instance, this course would be perfect. If you can’t sit through it, here at least are the basic laws and statistics and other facts regarding Arizona drunk driving:

The first thing you should know about Arizona drunk driving-besides NOT doing it-is that if you are driving a car in the state, you have given what is called your “implied consent”- to a drug and/or alcohol test, should you be suspected and pulled over. Further, if you are under 21, you will also be required to undergo a Preliminary Alcohol Screening, or PAS. If the test or tests show(s) a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or above, the arresting officer takes your license and you get served an order which suspends or revokes your license.

In other words, you are charged with Arizona drunk driving-or driving while intoxicated, DWI-and you lose your license for a period of time. The latter happens 30 days after you are pulled over. If you refuse the blood or breath test (depending upon which jurisdiction you are in at the time, you may be allowed to choose which), any number of things can happen: the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) might suspend your privilege to drive for one year; the DMV might take your license privileges for two years-if you refuse within seven years of having another violation or your license earlier revoked or suspended; the DMV might take your license for three years if within seven years of this date of getting pulled over for suspected Arizona drunk driving you have had two or more violations that you were convicted for, and/or if you had two or more different instances of having your license suspended or revoked….

Worse, if you are found convicted of Arizona drunk driving, you can also be jailed for 48 hours to six months and made to pay from 390 to 1,000 dollars in fines-the very first time you are found guilty of Arizona drunk driving. You can look forward to attending and completing a DUI program (where you will learn all of this again). And you can likely say goodbye to your car-if it is registered in your name-as it will be impounded for a month or more, which you will pay for. If you are convicted of a SECOND Arizona drunk driving offense (felony), you can do up to a year in jail, pay a fine of 1,000 dollars, and lose your car for up to 90 days.

There’s more, but if you are reading this far because of a second or third Arizona drunk driving charge, you may as well say tah-tah, either way, and hand the keys and your wallet over to the authorities, as well as your behind.

Instead, how about letting someone else drive, getting a taxi, taking a bus, or just staying home when you are about to get or have already gotten loaded?

Originally published here.

Arizona DUI: A manual for police, lawyers, and judges (Criminal and Traffic law series)