How Will a New York DUI Conviction Affect Your Life?

How Will a New York DUI Conviction Affect Your Life?

Driving while intoxicated is a crime in any state. Given that your ability to drive a vehicle and your coordination can be affected when you drink any amount of alcohol, the level of your impairment will depend on several different conditions including your gender, the length of time that you drank alcohol, your body weight, the amount of food you ate before or while you drank alcohol and the amount of alcohol you drank. There are serious consequences of any alcohol related violation in New York state.

Don’t assume that you can get out a Syracuse drunk driving charge easily without paying the price for many years. Even if you are assessed a fine and jail time, having this on your record and easily found in background checks can be problematic for your future.

You could be charged with driving while intoxicated or DWI if you have a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher or other evidence of intoxication. The threshold is lower for drivers of a commercial vehicle and an individual in this situation could be charged with a crime if he or she has a blood alcohol content of 0.04 or higher.

Aggravated intoxicated driving may be assessed for a BAC of 0.18 or higher. DWAI or driving while ability impaired by alcohol means having a blood alcohol content higher than 0.05 and less than 0.07 BAC. The consequences for alcohol related violations are stiff. They include:

• Aggravated DWI with a jail term of up to 1 year, a license revoked for a minimum of 1 year and up to $2500 in fines.
• Driving while intoxicated or driving while impaired by a drug could lead to having up to a year in jail, your license suspended for at least 6 months for a drug charge or your license revoked for at least 6 months for DWI and up to $1000 in fines
• For second DWI or DWAI drug violations within 10 years, the prison time can be as long as 4 years with a license revocation of 1 year and up to $5000 in fines. For a DWAI charge with any combination of alcohol or drugs, your license can be revoked for up to 6 months and you may be looking at a year in jail and $1000 in fines.
• For a general DWAI charge your license can be suspended for 90 days and you can spend up to 15 days in jail and pay up to $500 in fines.

These consequences can be far reaching and could lead to a criminal record that your future employers or landlords could find. This means that one mistake or not getting an appropriate New York criminal defense attorney to assist you with a driving while impaired charge could lead to you losing your license as well as being denied opportunities in the future.

It is in your best interests to consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible after you have been accused of any DWI or DWAI charge. The Eggleston law firm is here for you with a free consultation following any drunk or drugged driving charge.