How drunk driving accident penalties are assessed and how stiff can the punishments be?

It has been proven beyond doubt that the presence of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream will affect his or her ability to drive in a safe manner substantially – depending on how much alcohol is in in your system. Therefore every state has declared it illegal to drive under the influence, which is a crime punishable by law. This is why an accident caused by a drunken driver is seen as a far more serious matter in the eyes of the law than if the same accident were to be caused by someone who was sober.

Well, it depends on the type of wreck and what happened but you hopefully get the point.

Penalties for DUI accidents

In every state the maximum legal BAC or blood alcohol limit is 0.08%. Therefore, anyone who operates a motorized vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher is technically driving under the influence, say Fresno, CA drunk driving accident lawyers. When you cause a drunk driving accident, then prosecutors will process your charges accordingly and you will be assessed in a court of law for DUI accident penalties.

If you are pulled over and found to be drunk driving, you will be charged with a misdemeanor, which attracts lighter penalties since there was no accident, injuries, or property damage. However, a drunk driving accident is a very serious charge that is upgraded to a felony. The penalties for a drunk driving accident include long jail sentences, stiff fines, and probation in the event of the accident causing serious injuries and/or property damage.

DUI accident penalties can broadly be classified into two categories – administrative penalties and criminal penalties.

Administrative DUI accident penalties

Depending on the specifics of the case and/or arrest, administrative penalties include license suspension and accumulation of DUI points. This is unless you are the drunken and pathetic Detective McNulty in The Wire who gets into accidents when no one is around, no one knows, and it may help that he was a cop at the time, albeit a disorganized and wreck less one. It does not matter if you solve crimes (though he created crimes too on a number of levels) if you are not trustworthy and a poor example on how someone with a badge should act. Stop driving drunk!

For the first, second, and third drunk driving offense with a BAC of at least 0.08%, convicted drivers will have driver’s license suspended for 9 months, 1 year, and 2 years respectively, according to drunk driving accident attorneys in central California.

For the first, second and third DUI/DWAI conviction, the driver will be handed a license suspension of 9 months, 1 year, and 2 years respectively in addition to the accumulation of between 8 to 12 DUI points.

Criminal DUI accident penalties

Apart from license suspension and the accumulation of DUI points on your license, there are other more severe repercussions of a drunk driving accident conviction. These are the criminal penalties which include jail time, fines, and community service. You do not want to have to need a Fresno, CA drunk driving accident lawyer.

Depending on the whether the accident was a result of a first time DUI or a repeat DUI and if it involved underage DUI, the punishments will vary accordingly.

For a first DWAI, jail time may be anywhere between 2 days and 180 days while the penalties also include a fine ranging from $200 - $500 dollars in addition to 1-2 days of community service, caution Fresno, CA drunk driving accident lawyers.

On the other hand, for a third offense DUI or DWAI accident, jail time, fines can go up to $1,500 dollars and community service can last for 120 hours.

In addition, a victim in a drunk driving accident has the right to claim compensation through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

If you have been charged or have been wrongly charged in a DUI accident, there are many ways in which you can disprove the claims and the evidence of the prosecution. However, you need to reach out to a California drunk driving accident lawyer as soon as possible.

You may feel your luck has ran out but that is not quite the truth. If you caused a drunk driving accident you did make a mistake but your life is no over with. There has been a digital tool created in the form of a website that enables you to find legal help. It is Drunk-Driving-Accident.USAttorneys. Do not panic. You may not be as guilty as you think.