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Driving under the Influence (Dec. 31, 2016)

Driving under the influence, or DUI, is a serious issue in the Reno-Sparks area, throughout Nevada, and across the country. We should be on guard against DUI, especially now that the New Year is fast approaching.

As a former criminal prosecutor and now private attorney, I’d like to offer you a brief DUI overview so you may avoid a DUI and, if you are subject to a DUI investigation or arrest, you will at least know something about the process and consequences. My primary goal is to educate so as to prevent, education for prevention.

To begin with, although you should never, ever drive under the influence, you don’t have to be a bad person to get a DUI. Lots of good people—accountants, doctors, laborers, and other honest, hard-working folks—make a mistake in judgment and find themselves DUI. For example, some folks simply fail to recognize that they had one too many drinks. If you aren’t careful, it could happen to you.

The statistics are sobering—and tragic!

In the United States, about 30 people die every day in traffic accidents related to drunk driving—roughly one death within every hour of the day. This amounts to nearly a third, or 33%, of all traffic accidents, which is to say that alcohol plays a role in about one out of every three traffic accidents. And drugs other than alcohol—either illegal drugs or legal drugs like prescription drugs—are involved in over 15% of traffic accidents. Worse still, the trend is in the wrong direction. In 2015, over 35,000 people died in traffic accidents, ending a decades’ decline in traffic-related deaths with a 7.2% increase in deaths from 2014.

The statistics in Nevada are also sobering. From 2003 to 2012, over 1,000 people were killed in traffic accidents related to alcohol alone, to say nothing of accidents related to drugs other than alcohol. In 2013, the death toll was almost 80; in 2014, almost 100. Like the national statistics, a drunk driver was behind the wheel in about one out of every three traffic accidents in Nevada.

The above statistics come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Sadly, there’s also reason to believe that drunk driving affects our Reno-Sparks community disproportionately. As reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal and CBS News, Reno has been ranked as the drunkest city in Nevada and one of the drunkest in the United States.

As alluded to in the above statistics, there are different types of DUIs. NRS 484C.110 criminalizes the various types of DUIs, and NRS 484C.400 provides minimum and maximum penalties for DUI crimes, including jail and prison sentences, felony and misdemeanor probation, house arrest, community service, victim impact panels, substance-abuse classes, ignition-interlock devices, and various rehabilitation programs and specialty courts.

First, consider driving under the influence of alcohol. Nevada law recognizes three types: (1) “under the influence” of alcohol when driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle, which is a loose legal standard that means you are so impaired you cannot operate a vehicle safely; (2) “a concentration of alcohol of .08 or more in your blood or breath” when driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle; and (3) a concentration of alcohol of .08 or more in your blood or breath “by measurement within 2 hours” after driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle. We know what driving means, but the meaning of actual physical control is not intuitive. I plan to discuss actual physical control in a later post; the meaning may surprise you.

Second, consider driving under the influence of drugs. More precisely, I mean drugs other than alcohol, since alcohol itself is a kind of drug. In fact, there are seven drug categories: (1) central-nervous-system depressants; (2) central-nervous-system stimulants; (3) inhalants; (4) cannabis; (5) hallucinogens; (6) narcotic analgesics; and (7) dissociative anesthetics. It is a crime to be under the influence a controlled or prohibited substance or above per-se limits for certain controlled or prohibited substances. Controlled substances include prescription drugs. Prohibited substances include drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

Third, consider driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. This is what Nevada law refers to as driving “under the combined influence of intoxicating liquor and a controlled substance.” As we will discuss in a later post, the combined effect in many cases is not just additive but multiplicative. That is, the impairing effects aren’t just added; they are multiplied for an even higher level of impairment.

All of the above are serious crimes. So, please be on guard against them. If you’re going out, be safe. If you’re driving, be sober. And have a happy New Year!

I have made this blog available for educational purposes only, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog, you understand that there is no attorney–client relationship between you and me. This blog should not be used as a substitute for independent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.