Ohio considers driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs a traffic offense, however, the penalties involved make it seem more like a criminal offense.A DUI/OVI is typically a high-level misdemeanor, but a felony case may result from a repeat offense or an offense that is related to a crash in which other people were injured or killed.
The language of each state’s DUI statute differs, as do the penalties for first, second, and subsequent offenses. Make no mistake; Being arrested for, charged with, and convicted of DUI will create many of the same problems as committing a crime like theft or assault.
Know Your Terms
The alleged criminal offense of DUI goes by many names. In Columbus, Ohio, where I practice as a criminal and traffic attorney, the legal term for driving under the influence is “operating a vehicle while intoxicated,” or OVI. The Ohio Revised Code relies on the term OVI to capture a broad range of potential offenses.
For instance, under the OVI law, a vehicle can be a car, truck, motorcycle, moped, electric scooter, or bicycle. Intoxication can be due to alcohol, prescription medications, and/or street drugs. The Ohio OVI statute goes so far as to list legal limits for blood concentrations of amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamine, PCP (phencyclidine), and salvia.
Many other states call driving drunk or high “driving while intoxicated.” In fact, DWI is the abbreviation police use most frequently. The emphasis when using DWI goes to the “intoxication” part.Across the United States, driving while intoxicated has the statutory definition of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 for a driver who is older than 21 years of age.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BAC of 0.08 is the point at which most adults start to experience the following effects:
- Slowed reaction time
- Blurred vision
- Slurred speech
- Loss of balance
- Reduced self-control
- Poor reasoning
- Lack of judgment
- Diminished ability to detect danger
- Poor recall and lowered ability to form memories
Each of these problems worsen as a person’s BAC rises. This is why many states specify higher criminal penalties for drivers who get convicted of OVI after registering a BAC of 0.17 or higher.
It is also important to note that states impose a lower limit of 0.04 on commercial truck drivers (while operating a commercial vehicle) and an even lower limit of 0.02 for aircraft pilots and drivers under the age of 21which many people can register after consuming a single 12-oz. beer over the course of an hour.
What Treating DUI/DWI/OVI Like a Criminal Offense Means for Drivers
I devote much of my Columbus criminal defense attorney practice to advising and representing clients who have been charged with OVI. Though a first offense that is not a high tier test does not require jail time, it does require 3 days in a driver intervention program. A conviction for a first offense also results in a mandatory license suspension that comes with strict restrictions on driving privileges, high fines, insurance rate increases, and dealing with having to reinstate insurance.
Having a DWI charge and arrest on one’s record can also make it difficult to find or keep a job, obtain loans and credit, access government benefits, or qualify for scholarships and other educational opportunities. Effective defenses against DWI do exist. Officers and lab technicians have strict regulations they must follow while conducting their investigation. If those regulations and procedures are not followed correctly, an experienced DUI attorney should be able to help avoid some or all of the short and long-term consequences that come from being charged and convicted of driving under the influence.