In North Carolina, it is illegal to drive a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. When driving a commercial motor vehicle, the limit is 0.00%. The State's laws make punishment severe for impaired drivers and repeat offenders.
A driver who is stopped for alcohol-related offenses can be requested to submit to a breath or blood test or both to determine alcohol concentration or the presence of drugs in the blood. The results of the test will be used in court.
Any person charged with DWI who refuses to take an Intoxilyzer test or has results of 0.08% or more, 0.00% for commercial licenses will have their license revoked immediately for 30 days.
A limited driving privilege is available after 10 days if the driver has a valid license; does not have any unresolved DWI charges or convictions; provides proof of insurance; has obtained a substance abuse assessment and registered for and agreed to participate in any recommended training or treatment program.
Upon conviction of DWI (first offense), the license is revoked for one year. A limited driving privilege may be granted by the judge, if the driver did not hurt anyone, did not have a child under sixteen years of age in the car at the time of the incident, and the driver obtains a substance abuse assessment.
In order to have a license restored at the end of one year, the driver must go to treatment or school as recommended by the assessment. Upon conviction of a second offense within three years the revocation is four years.
Law officers can order chemical tests for drugs. If the driver refuses the test, an immediate 30-day revocation is imposed and an additional one-year revocation is imposed after an opportunity for a hearing. Even if a driver is found not guilty of DWI in court, a one-year revocation is imposed for refusing the test. A limited driving privilege may be granted after a six-month revocation period.
People under age 21 cannot drive with any alcohol or illegal drugs in their system -- period.
There are five levels of punishment for misdemeanor DWI:
Level V: A fine up to $200; a minimum jail sentence of 24 hours and a maximum of 60 days. A judge can suspend the sentence and order community service.
Level IV: A fine up to $500; a minimum jail sentence of 48 hours and a maximum of 120 days. A judge can suspend the sentence and order community service.
Level III: A fine up to $1000; a minimum jail sentence of 72 hours and a maximum of six months. A judge can suspend the sentence and order community service.
Level II: A fine up to $2000; a minimum jail sentence of seven days and a maximum of one year. A judge CANNOT suspend the minimum sentence.
Level I: A fine up to $4000 and a minimum jail sentence of 30 days and a maximum of two years. A judge CANNOT suspend the minimum sentence.
DWI becomes a felony for drivers who have had three prior DWI convictions within the past seven years. The Habitual DWI statute mandates a minimum active jail term of one year -- a sentence that CANNOT be suspended. Offenders must also go through a substance abuse program while in jail or as a condition of parole.
NEW NC DWI LAWS (Effective July 1, 2000)
Lower Levels for Repeat Offenders
S.L. 1999-406 amends Motor Vehicle Laws to impose new conditions on a person whose license is restored following various impaired driving offenses. The first time a driver's license is restored after a conviction for impaired driving, the Division of Motor Vehicles must condition the restoration on the person not operating the vehicle if he or she has an alcohol concentration greater than 0.04. The condition remains in effect for three years. If it is the person's second or subsequent restoration, the level is reduced to zero for the same three year period. If the person's license is restored after a permanent revocation, the level is zero and the condition applies for seven years.
If a person's license is revoked for convictions of certain other offenses (DWI in a commercial vehicle, underage twenty-one zero tolerance offense, etc.) the level imposed upon the person's restored license is anything greater than 0.00. The condition applies for three years, unless the revocation was permanent or for violation of the underage driver offense. For permanent revocations the period is seven years, and for drivers under age twenty-one it is until the driver reaches twenty-one.
Any person subject to these new lower levels must agree as a condition of receiving a driver's license, to take a chemical analysis if requested to do so by an officer who has probable cause to believe the driver is violating the condition. The person must also agree to accompany the officer to the test site. If the test reveals that the condition is violated, the officer must submit an affidavit to the DMV and the DMV must revoke any conditional restoration of license and impose an additional one year revocation.
The DMV must provide the motorist with a hearing to review the decision in the county where the violation occurred. The motorist may appeal the DMV's decision to superior court.
Ignition Interlocks
Ignition interlock devices are instruments attached to motor vehicles that require the driver to submit to a breath test before and during the operation of the vehicle. These devices have been authorized as a condition of restoration of a revoked license for impaired driving or as a condition of a limited privilege.
The new law applies to a person whose license was revoked for an impaired driving conviction if the person had an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or more or had another conviction involving impaired driving in the preceding seven years. The restriction requires the person to operate only a vehicle with an interlock device. That person must personally activate the device before starting the vehicle. This condition lasts for one year if the original revocation is one year, three years if the revocation is for four years and seven years if the revocation is permanent. A violation of any of the conditions constitutes the crime of driving while license revoked.
EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2000: Open containers of alcohol are prohibited inside a vehicle.
The bottom line:
NEVER DRIVE AFTER DRINKING ANY AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL!