Drink Driving Terms Defined
If you have recently been arrested or charged with a drinking and driving related offence, you may feel like you are swimming in acronym soup. Below is a glossary of the drink driving-related abbreviations, acronyms, and terms you are likely to encounter and their meanings.
BAC – This acronym is short for Blood Alcohol Content. It pertains to the level of alcohol you have in your system at the time of your arrest. For most States, it is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or above, however in some states such as Colorado, you can be charged with a DWAI for driving with a concentration of .05 to .079 of alcohol in your blood (see also DWAI).
BUI – means Boating Under the Influence and relates to operating any type of water-based vehicle while under the influence. The punishments in all States are just as severe as for driving while under the influence. One thing to note is that the vehicle does not need to be motorized. You could be prosecuted for operating a rowboat or sailboat while drinking.
DUBAL – means Driving with an Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level. All 50 states now have a Legal Limit of .08, and in some states you can actually be charged with having a blood alcohol level that is lower than this. See also “Legal Limit.
DUI – This is the most common term in the United States and stands for “Driving Under the Influence.” There are two parts to DUIs, the first is driving with a BAC (see definition above) of .08 or above. The second pertains to driving while being impaired. So technically, someone who has a high tolerance for alcohol, and may not feel impaired at a .08, can still be charged under the law with a DUI. Likewise, someone who has a BAC that is lower than a .08 can also be charged with DUI if it can be shown that the amount of alcohol in their system was enough to cause them to drive in an impaired, and therefore, unsafe manner. See also “DWAI”.
DUII – In Oregon, the legal term encompassing their drink and drug driving laws is “Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants”. This makes it very clear that alcohol is not the only substance under which someone can be found guilty of a driving while impaired related offence.
DWAI – In some states like Colorado, you can be charged with “Driving While Alcohol Impaired” even if you blood alcohol level is less than a .08. In this case, your blood alcohol would only have to be between .05 and .079.
DWI – This term means Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Impaired. It is a synonym of DUI, and is used in a number of states.
DWUI – In Wyoming, the acronym used for drink driving laws is Driving While Under (the) Influence.
Field Sobriety Tests – These are the roadside tests that the police officer will ask you to perform if he suspects you have been drinking because of the way you have been driving prior to being pulled over, and then evidence that you have been drinking, for example the smell of alcohol in your car or on your person, or empty alcohol containers in your car. Even fumbling for your driver’s license and registration could be a tip off that you are not entirely lucid and therefore sober. A common misconception about these tests is that they are mandatory. This is not true in any of the 50 states. They are 100% voluntary, you do not have to go along with the officer’s request to do the tests if he asks you to. In fact, most lawyers advise against doing these tests because doing so only gives the officer greater “probable cause” to arrest you on a drink driving offense. Other common terms for these tests are “Roadside maneuvers,” “Standardized Field Tests,” and the names of each test: “The One-Legged Stand,” “Walk-and-Turn,” and the “Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus” test, which is where the officer asks you to follow his finger or a pen with your eyes only, without moving your head.
Legal Limit – This pertains to the legal blood alcohol or drug level that a state decides it is OK for you to drive at regardless of your individual height, weight, or tolerance to alcohol. It is actually a misnomer because people call the legal limit for alcohol .08, but in fact, at .08 in most states, it is illegal to drive. In fact in some states, it is illegal to drive even with a .05 blood alcohol content, for example in Colorado. Many states, like Nevada, also have a zero tolerance policy on certain drugs, for example Marijuana. So if you are found to have even a very trace amount of marijuana in your system which could be the result of using the substance 2 or 3 weeks before, you can be found guilty of a DUI.
MADD – This stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving which is a lobby group that has exerted a good deal of pressure on local and federal government in recent years to tighten drink-driving laws. Some lawyers feel that some of the drink-driving laws are overly harsh and even unconstitutional as a direct result of this lobby group’s influence.
Miranda Rights – These are the rights that any citizen of the United States has to remain silent when being questioned by a police officer. The officer however is not obligated to read you your Miranda Rights until he has enough probable cause to arrest you. This means that he can ask you preliminary questions to help build his case as to why he should arrest you, for example, when he pulls you over, he may ask where you are coming from, where are you going to, have you been drinking, if so, how much, etc. You have the right to politely refuse to answer his questions, or just remain completely silent. Most lawyers will advise that if you have in fact been drinking, you politely decline to answer these questions, as doing so can only help the officer develop probable cause against you. Many people make the mistake of volunteering too much information when they have been pulled over, and say things like, “I only had one or two beers, officer” and this gives the officer plenty of probable cause to now arrest you on a DUI charge.
OWI – This is another synonym of DUI and is used in a small number of states instead of “DUI”. It literally means “Operating While Intoxicated”. You may also hear “OVWI”, which means Operating a Vessel While Intoxicated. This could also include a boat or any motorized vehicle. “OVI” means Operating a Vehicle (while) Impaired and is the common term used in Ohio to cover all drink-driving related offences. Sometimes in Ohio you will also hear “OMVI”, which means Operating a Motor Vehicle while Impaired.
PBT – Preliminary Breath Tests are the portable devices that police officers carry with them in the field and will ask someone they strongly suspect of being under the influence to blow into at the scene. These tests are 100% voluntary in every state, and so if you have been drinking, most lawyers will advise you to NOT give a breath test at the scene. If arrested, you will have to give a breath or blood test back at the station, however, otherwise you could face losing your driver’s license for a year. But, the officer can only arrest you if he has probable cause at the scene, and one way to help give him that is to blow greater than a .08 into his PBT. Also known as a PAS - Preliminary Alcohol Screening - device.