What is the Legal Alcohol Amount for Driving Without a DUI Risk in Colorado?
How much alcohol can lawfully be in a person’s system before that person can face drunk driving-related charges in Denver? The answer to the question depends on the person’s age, whether they are driving a personal or commercial vehicle, and whether they are talking about charges for driving while ability impaired (DWAI) or driving under the influence (DUI). Since drunk driving laws are set on the state level by each state, it is essential to understand the specific laws in Colorado if you are driving in the Denver area and if you have been arrested for impaired driving.
The federal floor “per se” limit for a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08 percent, meaning that every state’s laws must make it unlawful for a person to drive with a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher. Yet states also have the ability to make it unlawful for motorists to drive with lower BACs (but cannot allow for higher lawful BACs). In Colorado, you can face charges for a DUI if you have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher. At the same time, you can face DWAI charges with a lower BAC, 0.05 percent, in various circumstances, too. Our Denver DUI defense lawyer can explain.
DUI, or Driving Under the Influence
If you have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, you can be charged with a DUI per se in Colorado.
You can also face DUI charges regardless of your BAC if you drive “under the influence of alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of both alcohol and one or more drugs.” The term driving under the influence means “driving a motor vehicle or vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs, that affects the person to a degree that the person is substantially incapable, either mentally or physically, or both mentally and physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle” under Colorado law.
DWAI, or Driving While Ability Impaired
If you have a BAC of 0.05 or higher, you can face criminal charges for a DWAI per se. This is a lesser offense than a DUI but is nonetheless a criminal offense.
As with a DUI, you can also face DWAI charges regardless of BAC if you are determined to be “driving while ability impaired,” which means “driving a motor vehicle or vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of both alcohol and one or more drugs, that affects the person to the slightest degree so that the person is less able than the person ordinarily would have been, either mentally or physically, or both mentally and physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.”
Commercial DUI
A driver of a commercial vehicle with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) can face commercial DUI charges if they have a BAC of 0.04 percent or higher.
Underage DUI
Finally, if a driver under the age of 21 has a BAC of 0.02 percent or higher, under the zero tolerance law in Colorado, they can face an underage DUI.
Contact Our Denver DUI Defense Lawyers for Assistance with the DWAI or DUI Charges You Are Facing
If you are facing DUI, DWAI, or any other type of impaired driving charges in Colorado, you should seek legal advice as soon as possible. One of the experienced Denver DUI defense attorneys at DeChant Law can begin working with you today on your defense. Contact us for more information.
Sources:
ecfr.gov/current/title-36/chapter-I/part-4/section-4.23
ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Documents/SR1301.pdf
law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-42/regulation-of-vehicles-and-traffic/article-4/part-13/section-42-4-1301/
