New Jersey DUI

New Jersey DUI Laws

• You’ll get a New Jersey DUI, also known as a DWI, if you’re stopped while driving a motor vehicle of any kind, including a boat, and you have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or greater. You can also receive a DWI if a police officer believe your ability to drive is impaired because of alcohol or drugs even if your BAC is less than .08%. You’ll be asked to take field sobriety tests, which include actions such walking a straight line and counting, balancing on one leg, and other tests of coordination and concentration. If the officer believes you are intoxicated or impaired, you’ll be taken to a police station to provide a breath sample, which will allow the officer to see your BAC. If you are charged with DUI, you need to contact a New Jersey DUI lawyer immediately.

Consequences of a DUI in New Jersey

• Being charged with a DUI can greatly affect your ability to drive, your wages and even your home. Losing the ability to drive is difficult enough, but especially if you’ve had a DUI in the past, another DUI can mean months in jail and years of license suspension, which can affect your ability to change jobs and your everyday life. Also, if you have trouble paying the thousands of dollars in fines and surcharges, you can have your wages garnished or a lien placed against your home. You need a good New Jersey DUI attorney to help you avoid these consequences.

• Many factors affect the outcome of a DUI charge. Good New Jersey DUI attorneys know the strategies to challenge the arrest, including chekcing the calibration and findings of the Alcotest machine and the procedures the officer performed even before you were pulled over and asked to take a field sobriety test. You need a good New Jersey DUI lawyer on your side to make sure that you’re not being pushed through the justice system based on faulty and questionable BAC results or officer judgment.

New Jersey DUI Penalties

• Getting a DUI in New Jersey , aside from the potential long-term consequences and the immediate loss of the ability to drive, is expensive and can be potentially bank-breaking. If you’re found to have a blood alcohol level of at least .08% but not above .10%, you’ve met the minimum level for a DUI arrest and conviction in New Jersey . But even at this level, even with a first offense, the conviction will cost you thousands of dollars.

• First, you’ll lose your license for 3 months. You can be sentenced up to 30 days in jail, as well as 12 to 48 hours of community service. But you’ll also pay a fine that’s somewhere between $250 and $400 dollars. That’s already expensive, but that’s only the fine for a New Jersey DUI. There are other fees, like $230 to the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center , known as the IDRC. You’ll also have to pay $100 to the Drunk Driving Fund. Another $100 is required for the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund, the AERF. You’ll pay $75 to the Neighborhood Services Fund. And for the next 3 years you’ll be required to pay $1,000 per year as a DUI “surcharge.” All of this is for your first offense, with the minimum BAC.

• If your BAC tests above .10%, you’ll pay all the same fees and surcharges, but your fine will be from $300 to $500, and you’ll lose your license for a minimum of 7 months to 1 year. For either of these arrests, having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle or boat carries another $200 to $250 fine. And any drugs found on you at the time of arrest carry a minimum $50 extra fine, and a minimum license loss of 2 years, plus whatever extra fines and stipulations the individual drug charges might carry.

• For even higher levels of BAC, you will be required to place an ignition interlock device on any car registered in your name or that you drive. You will be required to pay the costs of installing the device, and if you are caught driving a car without an ignition interlock device you are subject to additional penalties.

Second and Third DUI Offenses

• Once you’ve been convicted of a DUI, another arrest within 10 years means a 2-year license suspension, a fine between $500 and $1,000, a $280 IDRC fee, up to 90 days in jail and more community service time in addition to the other surcharges and fees for a first conviction. A third offense in 10 years comes with a $1,000 fine, mandatory 180 days in jail and loss of driving privileges for a decade.

• You can’t afford not to find a top New Jersey DUI attorney when you’re facing these kinds of consequences. Not only can the loss of license cause serious difficulties in your life, it can make getting back and forth to work difficult and expensive. A New Jersey DUI attorney will work on your behalf to get minimize or avoid the damage caused by a DUI arrest.