Driving Offenses: Alcohol, BAC, DWI Penalties, Drugs, Implied Consent, Losing Your Privileges, Trailer Safety and Registration: A Death Every 33 Minutes, How Alcohol Reaches the Brain in 20 Minutes, Why Coffee Fails, the .04, .08 and .02 Limits, 0.015 Percent an Hour, Signs of a Drinking Driver, the Open Container Law, First Through Fourth DWI Penalties, Vehicular Homicide and Negligent Injury, Reckless Driving, Hit and Run, Flight, Refusal Suspensions of 365 and 730 Days, the SR-22, Suspension Grounds and the Extra Year, Hitching, Trailer Brakes at 3,000 Pounds, Lights, Tires and Loading, Titles Within Five Days, New Residents, Insurance and Plate Seizure, Renewals, Inspection Stickers and Fees

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Louisiana Class E knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Louisiana Class D & E Driver's Guide (OMV, R08/25 edition), Chapter 9 "Driving Offenses" (pages 122–127), Chapter 10-A "Trailer Safety" (pages 133–134) and Chapter 11 "Motor Vehicle Registration and Title" (pages 135–137).

Alcohol

Driving under the influence is a crime; someone dies in an alcohol-related crash every 33 minutes, drunk driving costs the nation $132 billion a year and is the leading cause of death for ages 16 to 24, and Americans drive drunk about 121 million times a year. Alcohol reaches the brain in about 20 minutes and attacks judgment and skill. It is a depressant with anesthetic effects, slowing reflexes, judgment, alertness and vision; any stimulation is only lowered inhibition, and enough alcohol causes coma or death. Beer, wine and whiskey all count only by the alcohol entering the blood; an empty stomach speeds absorption, as do potency, rate of drinking, sex, fitness, mood and metabolism; and once in the blood nothing hastens sobering, not coffee, exercise or a cold shower, since the liver metabolizes it and the kidneys and lungs eliminate it over time. Alcohol reduces judgment of speed, distance and angles, encourages risks and lawbreaking, impairs concentration so you forget belts, lights, signals and signs, slows reaction, blurs vision, hides your own condition, causes sleepiness and increases anger. Even one drink slows response; alcohol brings a warm flush as blood moves to the skin while body temperature actually drops, making it dangerous with snakebite, shock, cold or heat; coordination, vision, thinking and balance fail as intoxication rises; and blackouts erase memory.

Blood alcohol concentration

BAC is the weight of alcohol per volume of blood, 0.10 percent meaning 100 mg per 100 ml, measured simply by breath. The body clears about one normal drink an hour, so after four drinks wait four hours or more. Louisiana's limits are .04 in a commercial vehicle, .08 at 21 or older and .02 at 20 and younger. The body processes about 0.015 percent an hour: a BAC of 0.20 at 2 a.m. is still over 0.10 at 8 a.m. and 0.05 at noon. Sober means no alcohol or impairing drug in the system, impairment starts with the first drink, and an officer spots a drinking driver by speeding, weaving within the lane, overly slow driving, jerky speed and abrupt stops at signs and lights. The open container law forbids possessing any open alcoholic container or drinking in a vehicle, putting the driver at risk of fines even without drinking.

DWI penalties

A first conviction can cost about $4,500 in fines, costs and lawyers. Maximum penalties: first DWI, a criminal record, six months in jail, a $1,025 fine plus costs and loss of license for one year; second, six months in jail with 48 hours mandatory, $1,050, and loss of license for two years; third, a felony record, one to five years in prison with 30 days mandatory, $2,100, loss of license for three years, seizure and sale of the vehicle, six weeks of inpatient and 12 months of outpatient treatment, and home incarceration for the rest of the sentence; fourth, a felony, up to 30 years in prison with 30 days mandatory, $5,250, three years without a license, vehicle seizure, treatment and five years of home incarceration. A felony record costs the vote and can bar careers in the military, dentistry, engineering, insurance, law, medicine and accounting, and some insurers will not cover you. Proof of future financial responsibility must be kept three years from conviction, and courts may order community service, driver improvement and treatment at your expense. Killing someone while driving intoxicated can bring up to 30 years, loss of license, money and citizenship rights and lawsuits beyond your insurance. Seeing a drunk driver, keep far away, never signal them to pull over, note the plate and vehicle without risking yourself, and pull over and call 911 with a description and location.

Drugs, homicide and other offenses

Amphetamines, tranquilizers and barbiturates bring drowsiness, poor coordination and bad judgment, take hours to wear off and multiply with alcohol; Louisiana punishes drugged driving exactly like drunk driving, including over-the-counter and prescribed medicines, so read labels. One drink fades in an hour, but one marijuana cigarette takes five to six hours to wear off, making the combination especially dangerous; marijuana affects eyesight, judgment of time, speed and distance, heart rate, anxiety, concentration, memory and learning. Vehicular homicide (R.S. 14:32.1), killing a person with any conveyance regardless of intent, carries a $2,000 to $15,000 fine and five to 30 years with at least one year mandatory; vehicle negligent injury while impaired or at 0.08 or more carries up to $1,000 and six months; first degree vehicle negligent injury, causing serious bodily injury, up to $2,000 and five years. Reckless or criminally negligent driving brings a fine and jail; hit and run, failing to stop, identify yourself and give aid, brings a fine and jail; refusing to stop for an officer's signal is a crime.

Implied consent

Driving on Louisiana highways is consent to a test for alcohol and controlled substances; you may be asked for field sobriety tests or a blood, urine or breath test at the discretion of an officer with reason to believe you are impaired, after being advised of your criminal and civil rights. Refusing suspends your privileges 365 days for a first offense and 730 days for a second or later, and reinstatement requires proof of future financial responsibility by an SR-22 high-risk policy or $30,000 in cash or security, maintained for three years. Submitting at 21 or older with a BAC of 0.08 to 0.149 brings a 180-day suspension, 0.15 or greater a two-year (730-day) suspension, and under 21 with 0.02 or more 180 days, with penalties rising for later convictions.

Losing your driving privileges

Privileges are suspended for a DWI conviction, failing to stop for a loading school bus, manslaughter or negligent homicide with a vehicle, any felony with a vehicle, failing to stop and help at an injury or death crash, three reckless driving convictions in 12 months, unlawful use of a license, a false statement or concealed fact on an application, failing to answer a traffic charge, driving against a restriction, refusing a test or testing at 0.08 or more (0.02 under 21), failing to comply with financial responsibility law, an out-of-state offense that would count here, altering the license and driving while suspended. Surrendering the card is not required to start the period, which can date from receipt of your current license, its expiry, a statement of non-possession, the end of a prior suspension or 30 days after the notice. Each conviction for driving under suspension adds one year, plus arrest, fines and jail, and a reinstatement fee is due when the period ends.

Trailer safety

Check the owner's manual before towing, since a trailer changes the weight and your speed and stopping distance. The common hitch is a ball and coupler that must match in size; safety chains or an approved device must be strong enough to hold the trailer, have slack for sharp turns without dragging, and cross under the tongue to keep it off the road if the trailer separates. Every trailer of 3,000 pounds or more needs brakes the driver can apply from the cab that apply automatically in a breakaway. Trailers need taillights, brake lights, side markers, turn signals and side and rear reflectors on a matching, non-dragging electrical connection checked before every tow. Trailer tires should match in type, size and construction, never mixing bias and radial, sized by the certification label with attention to load rating, kept inflated and replaced when worn, and the tow vehicle's tires may need higher pressure. Balance weight side to side, spread cargo evenly along the length, secure everything, adjust the hitch height and use load-leveling bars per the manuals.

Registration and title

Vehicles must be titled and registered at any OMV office or a public tag agent (extra fees). A new car from a Louisiana dealer comes with a certificate of origin and notarized invoice, the dealer usually handles taxes and paperwork, and a 60-day temporary cardboard plate must be visible from the rear. For a used vehicle the seller must deliver a properly assigned title at sale, any lien must be released, and you have five days to apply for a title with the notarized assigned title, a notarized bill of sale (unless the title records the price), a declaration of insurance, sales tax and fees, a federal odometer statement for vehicles under 10 years old (built into titles printed since 1998) and any mortgage document. The registration certificate is proof of ownership, must stay in the vehicle and be shown on request, and can be duplicated at any office or tag agent. New residents transfer title and registration with the out-of-state title and registration (a photocopy if a lienholder holds it) and proof of insurance; fees follow the book value, with credit for taxes paid to states that reciprocate; state tax is 4 percent plus varying local rates. Correct the registration address within 10 days of moving, free, bringing all previous registrations. Every vehicle on the highway must be insured; under Louisiana's implied consent laws proof of insurance must stay in the operating vehicle and be shown to any officer, and without it the plate is seized and the vehicle may be impounded, with three calendar days (excluding weekends and holidays) to show proof at an OMV office before the plate is destroyed and re-registration fees are due; false insurance information can suspend the registration and bring fines and jail; surrender the plate before canceling insurance or face penalties. Plates expire on the last day of the month shown, may be renewed in person 60 days early, by mail with a check to the Department of Public Safety, or by internet or phone if invited, and the owner is responsible whether or not a notice arrives. Every automobile, truck, trailer, boat trailer and motorcycle needs a current inspection sticker from a station showing the orange "Louisiana Motor Vehicle Inspection Station" sign, or from the city program in New Orleans, Kenner and Westwego. Automobile plates cost one percent of the original selling price, $10 a year for vehicles valued at $10,000 or less, issued for two years; private pickup plates (6,000 pounds or less) cost $10 a year for four years, and larger trucks pay by weight; a title costs $68.50, most transactions carry an $8 handling fee and some offices add up to $6.

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