Delta, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/23/2013 -- Humans are not perfect and sometimes have errors in judgment, such as when they choose drinking and driving over another, safer alternative. Legal-yogi.com is here to share its knowledge of this topic, including:

- Defining Drunk Driving
- Understanding “Per Se”
- Penalties for Driving Drunk
- DUI Statistics

Clarifying “Drunk Driving”
Most people believe that “drunk driving” is just driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over 0.08%, but it’s actually more than that. When a person is drinking while driving, he’s putting everyone else at risk. “Drunk driving” occurs when a person has imbibed so much alcohol that it impairs his ability to operate the vehicle. There are many other ways to refer to drunk driving; some of them are DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or illicit substances; DWI (driving while intoxicated); and OUIL (operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor).

Defining “Per Se”

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When someone is charged with drinking and driving, he may also be charged with DUI per se, which is a single type of qualifier. A person can be charged with both DUI and DUI per se, meaning that the police can state first that one’s driving was impaired by his excessive alcohol imbibing, and that even if it wasn’t, the perpetrator is still guilty based just on his blood alcohol level. Some states allow a person to be charged with both offenses at once, but punishment will only be doled out for one.

Repercussions for DUI
Some of the punishments for a first offense of drinking while driving include fines, alcohol education classes, license restriction or revocation, and probation. As a person repeatedly engages in this behavior and gets caught, the penalties increase, also. Fines become steeper, alcohol education classes take longer to complete, and license revocation is for a longer time period. Should this irresponsible person continue on his path of destruction, he will end up in jail for anywhere from a few months to 5 years or more.

Drunk Driving Statistics
In 2011, the most recent year for which facts are available, people engaging in drinking and driving caused one traffic fatality every 53 minutes. Traffic deaths from alcohol-related driving decreased 2.5% from 2010. The likelihood of a fatal alcohol-related car crash was 4.5 times more at night than during the day. The highest proportion of drivers involved in alcohol-related fatalities was aged 21 to 24 in 2011. There was a big discrepancy between the numbers of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities in 2011. Only 15% of fatal accidents during the week were caused by intoxicated drivers, compared to 31% on weekends.

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