One of the common misconceptions that people have about charges of driving while under the influence (or DWI) is that this is really only a problem if your driving is clearly impaired. Of course, there is a difference between someone that is drunk and is currently lacking the judgment to objectively assess their own driving skill, and someone that is impaired but has the ability to drive in what would be judged a safe, law abiding manner despite that.
Such people may be in the minority, but there actually are some people out there that can ingest the amount of alcohol that is legally considered unsafe and still get behind the wheel of a car and drive a straight line, break in decent time, and respond to changes on the road. That still, however, doesn’t make it legal.
The Facts About DWI
In the state of New York, a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) rating of 0.8% is all that is required for someone to be considered DWI. If you are under the age of 21, or are professionally driving for commercial/business purposes, that rating drops to 0.4%. If consume alcohol and your BAC rating is at these levels, should you take to the wheel and be stopped by the police for a BAC test, you will be charged for DWI regardless of your actual performance on the road.
Perhaps more importantly, you need to keep in mind that when a police officer asks you to stop and wants to conduct a test, the state of New York has an “implied consent” law. This means that when you accepted your driver’s license, you automatically gave permission to any police officer to administer a BAC test. You can still refuse to take this test when it is presented, but doing so will incite a stiff fine, as well as the suspension of your driver’s license for a minimum of one year.
An Attorney Can Help
In this situation, you can get a quick, much more favorable resolution for the problem if you secure the services of an experienced DWI attorney. With this kind of professional legal help, you have much better chance at sentence bargaining to reduce possible consequences, and, depending on the circumstances, a DWI attorney may see an opportunity to dramatically change the results of the case in your favor. If you find yourself facing DWI charges, think about getting a good DWI attorney to help with your case.