Felony traffic violations are very serious offenses in nature, and can offer penalties of heavy fines and minimal jail time to life imprisonment-depending on the crime. When it comes to felony traffic violations, one of the most commonly charged offenses is repeat DUIs and DWIs. In the following category, we take a closer look at DUI/DWI crimes as well as the penalties afforded first time and repeat instances of these felony crimes.
To best understand the topic of multiple instances of DUI or DWI crimes, it is necessary to begin with a working knowledge of DUI and DWI. DUI stands for Driving Under the Influence and DWI stands for Driving While Intoxicated. Both denote the consuming of alcohol or drugs prior to operating a vehicle, such that the operation of the vehicle is impaired-in which the risk of injury or death to others is possible. Where the difference lies between these two terms is simply how the state jurisdiction handling the crime chooses to call crimes of this nature; so in one state, the offender could be guilty of a one, while in another state, the same crime would be considered the other.
Driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated means different things to different states. Depending on the jurisdiction, the amount of perceived alcohol and/or drugs used to vary as regards classifying this crime, but now the legal limit is .8 in all states for adults. Moreover, anyone under the legal age of drinking is subject to a zero tolerance law adopted by all states-requiring that no minor have any amount of alcohol in their system.
Penalties for driving under the influence are never standard-in accordance to the jurisdiction in which the crime is committed, however, it is typical that a defendant of a first time drunk driving offense will incur a less severe penalty than an offender who has previous convictions. A first time offender will probably be subject to-at the very least-a suspension of their driver’s license, if not revocation; drug/alcohol counseling and education, and a heavy fine. This is not to say that a first time offender will not be given a more severe sentence, as many states have upped their sentencing for crimes of this nature.
Penalties for repeat DUI/DWI are considered, in most states, felonies; and have been subject to what is called “habitual violator” laws which rank multiple crime status as three times or more. Standard penalties for these offenders of DWI include: revocation of civil rights (owning a weapon, voting, etc), high fines, extended suspension of driver’s license, and mandatory jail time. These are just the direct punishments, as intensive drug and alcohol counseling, rehabilitation, and education is almost always included in a repeat DUI/DWI conviction sentencing. It is also quite possible that due to the nature of the offense and specific case, the defendant will have their license revoked forever. The penalties have not always been so severe, but with more incidents of drunk driving deaths in the past few decades, state legislatures have decided to institute stricter penalties to cut down on the incident of crime.