This Holiday Season remember: Drinking and Driving is NOT an Option.
With the festive holiday season upon us, please, before you drink — think of the options: plan a designated driver, take a cab, spend the night. Remember that drinking and driving is NOT an option.
JUST THE FACTS:
What is BAC?
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). The % of alcohol in a person's bloodstream.
A drink is a drink is a drink.
Each of the following contains the same amount of alcohol:
12 oz. can of beer at 5% alcohol
5 oz. glass of wine at 12% alcohol
1.5 oz. of 80-proof liquor at 40% alcohol
12 oz. wine cooler at 5% alcohol
Drivers at .08 BAC are four times more likely to cause a crash than driver with no BAC.
New York has new, tougher laws on drinking and driving.
Aggravated Vehicular Homicide
Drivers who kill someone in a drunk or drugged driving crash and also have at least one of these:
- BAC of .18 or higher;
- prior DWI conviction within the last 10 years;
- crash caused the death of more than one person;
- crash killed one person and severely injures another;
- offender was driving with a suspended or revoked license from any state.
This violation is class B felony with a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.
Aggravated Vehicular Assault
Drunk or drugged drivers who cause serious physical injury to another person and also have at least one of these:
- BAC of .18 or higher;
- prior DWI conviction within the last 10 years;
- crash caused serious injury to more than one person;
- offender was driving with a suspended or revoked license from any state.
This violation is a class C felony with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Increased Penalties for DWI with children in the vehicle:
- First time offenders driving while intoxicated (.08 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or more) or impaired by drugs while a child of younger than 16 years old is in the vehicle may be charged with a class E felony punishable by up to 4 years in State prison.
- Individuals charged with driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or greater and with a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle would automatically have their license suspended pending prosecution.
- Drivers who drive while intoxicated or impaired by drugs and cause the death of a child younger than 16 in the car may be charged with a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in State prison.
- Drivers who drive while intoxicated or impaired by drugs and cause serious physical injury to a child in the vehicle may be charged with the Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in State prison.
- Individuals who are a parent, guardian, custodian or otherwise legally responsible for a child who are charged with driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs while that child is a passenger in the car would be reported to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment by the arresting agency.