DUI And The Authorities
Driving under the influence, also known as a DUI; should not be taken lightly by any individual. You could not just think that you can get away with it since authorities are likely to apprehend you when you are caught doing so.
The odds that someone is operating a vehicle under the influence is high since there is no law to stop them drinking up a storm. For this reason it has become a cause for concern because of all the fatalities resulting from it and families destroyed.
Drivers who are under the influence (DUI) believe they can drive a straight line or well enough to avoid being detected by officers, but that is not the case. Even the best drivers will give themselves away when intoxicated since they are not functioning at 100% and will be caught.
There are several ways traffic authorities have to detect intoxication from alcohol, drugs or other neural compounds and one is the BAC test. This test measures the amount of alcohol content in the blood. In the United States a reading of .08% or higher classifies a person as DUI and if driving and caught you will be liable for an offense.
The breathalyzer test in another commonly used way of finding out if a driver is intoxicated or not. The name already implies that breathing is involved, and it is. This test is administered after officers have stopped a potential offender. The driver is required to blow into a device that will that give a reading showing the blood-alcohol concentration. In order to be stopped and charged, the breathalyzer results have to be in the drunken range.
Officers that can not perform the breathalyzer test will make a suspicious driver take a laboratory test to determine the percentage of alcohol in the body.
When a driver is found to be intoxicated, he is given some penalties according to the laws in a particular state. The penalties for a DUI are not general in all states; one state may enforce a higher penalty than another. Penalties also vary according to the number of offenses committed. If it is a first offense, the penalties may be lighter than with second or third offenses and so on.
There are also states that define lines between the age of the offender, such as being a minor or a full-grown adult. Minors are often given some degree of leniency compared to people who have reached the age of majority.
There have been many campaigns in recent years to educate both adults and minors alike on the consequences of driving under the influence. Due to the unacceptable number of DUI incidents in recent years authorities are enforcing the law more in apprehending drivers that are DUI in hope of possibly saving a life or more.