‘Driving under Influence’ of alcohol or drugs is a serious offense in any country. The person, who is charged, has to face severe consequences. If the guilt is established in the court, the charges will depend upon the State law. In the state of New Jersey, there is no chance of escaping with minimum penalty once you have been proved guilty by law.
The charges you may have to face:
- Your driving license will be confiscated permanently. Your vehicle insurance policy may be canceled.
- You will be fined heavily.
- You may be jailed for long period of time.
The charges mainly depend upon the proved circumstances while the offender has been caught by the law force.
The severity of the punishment depends upon:
- The percentage of alcohol or drug in the blood stream of the driver. The legal limit in most of the states is 0.8%. It will surely help in charging you more fine charges to pay.
- Presence of liquor bottles in the vehicle or any other evidence of intoxication. While searching the vehicles, if any kind of intoxication material is found, the law enforcing officers has the power to arrest you to file severe charge against you.
- Refusal to take blood test or of breath will be an offense even if you are not proved guilty of consuming alcohols or drug.
- Repeated offenses may lead to severe punishment.
- In some states along with paying fine, you may need to attend prevention programs or alcohol abuse treatments.
- If a minor is arrested, the criminal case becomes more severe as in most states drinking before the age of 21 itself is a crime.
- Longer jail term, high penalties and you may get even lifetime in jail if the driving vehicle is collided or any person involved in the accident becomes injured or is killed.
Few of the New Jersey laws enforced in the field of DUI:
Proposed DUI laws in New Jersey imply the offenders to install ignition interlock devices, which won’t let the person drive if he/she has drunk. The driver has to blow in the device, if their breath is normal, then only the car starts. Mainly it helps in preventing heavily drunk people to drive on the road. Yu have to certify the installation of the device to Regional Service Center to regain the driving privilege.
The Motor Vehicle Commission places many surcharges, points and more penalties if it is repeated offense. If you refuse to give blood test or breathe test, your driving license will surely get canceled for at least a year. Your vehicle insurance company will cancel the insurance policy. If you are under 21 years of age, you have to do community service along with paying the penalty charge. The court may even ask you to enroll in Highway Safety Education with IDRC.
It is advisable to hire a skilled lawyer to lessen your penalty charges, if you are caught driving under the influence of any kind of intoxication.