Alcohol and Other Drugs: What Alcohol Does, BAC, Chemical Tests, Penalties, Repeat Offenders and Zero Tolerance
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the New York State Class D knowledge (written) test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, chapter 9 "Alcohol and Other Drugs" (pp. 54–60).
The problem
More than 40 percent of New York motor vehicle deaths involve impaired driving. The effects of alcohol begin with the first drink, long before legal impairment. Drivers under 21 are about 4 percent of drivers but 7 percent of impaired drivers in fatal crashes, which is why penalties for young drivers are harsher. Enforcement is strict and the law limits plea bargaining on alcohol and drug charges.
What alcohol and drugs do
Alcohol delays reaction time, reduces clear vision, distorts judgment of speed and distance, lowers inhibitions and makes you take chances. Night driving after drinking is especially dangerous because alcohol slows recovery from headlight glare. Alcohol also hides its own effects, so you feel more confident just when you should not drive, and it corrupts the hundreds of decisions a mile of driving requires. Driving impaired by drugs, alcohol or both is a criminal offense, and that includes marijuana/cannabis, illegal drugs such as cocaine, LSD, heroin and opium, and some prescription drugs, which affect reflexes, judgment, vision and alertness. Alcohol combined with other drugs severely reduces driving ability and can cause serious health problems, even death.
The offenses and BAC
You can be arrested for Aggravated DWI, DWI, driving with .08 BAC or more, DWAI-drug, DWAI (impaired by alcohol), or driving under the combined influence. Blood alcohol content is normally measured by a chemical test of breath, blood, urine or saliva. A BAC of more than .05 is legal evidence of impairment, .08 or higher is evidence of intoxication, and .18 or more is evidence of aggravated DWI; commercial drivers face tougher standards.
Your BAC depends on how much you drink, how much time passes between drinks, and your weight. It does not depend on the type of beverage, your fitness or how well you "hold your liquor": 1½ ounces of liquor, 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer and 12 ounces of wine cooler hold about the same alcohol, and none is safer. For a 150-pound man each raises the BAC about .02, and the body needs about one hour to remove that much; women process alcohol more slowly. Eating slows absorption a little but cannot prevent impairment. The only way to lower BAC is time without drinking; coffee, exercise and cold showers keep you awake but do not sober you. A chemical test is not required for conviction: an officer's testimony about your driving, appearance and behavior can be enough.
Any alcohol or drug conviction means the court must revoke or suspend the license at sentencing, and even when the court allows 20 more days of driving, the license itself is taken immediately.
Chemical tests and implied consent
Under implied consent, driving in New York means you have agreed to a chemical test when arrested for an alcohol or drug offense. Refusing is a separate matter from guilt: the license is suspended at arraignment, the refusal can be used against you at trial, and if a DMV hearing confirms the refusal the license is revoked even if you are acquitted. Revocation periods and civil penalties for refusals are in chapter 2.
Penalties
| Offense | Fine | Jail | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggravated DWI (.18+), 1st (misdemeanor) | $1,000–$2,500 | up to 1 year | minimum 1-year revocation |
| Aggravated DWI, 2nd within 10 years (Class E felony) | $1,000–$5,000 | up to 4 years | minimum 18-month revocation |
| DWI (.08+) or DWAI-drug, 1st (misdemeanor) | $500–$1,000 | up to 1 year | minimum 6-month revocation (DWI) or 6-month suspension (DWAI-drug) |
| DWI or DWAI-drug, 2nd within 10 years (Class E felony) | $1,000–$5,000 | up to 4 years; a DWI within the prior 5 years brings at least 5 days jail or 30 days community service | minimum 1-year revocation |
| DWAI-combination (alcohol and drugs), 1st | $500–$1,000 | up to 1 year | minimum 6-month revocation |
| DWAI-combination, 2nd within 10 years (felony) | $1,000–$5,000 | up to 4 years | minimum 1-year revocation |
| DWAI (more than .05 to .07), 1st (traffic infraction) | $300–$500 | up to 15 days | 90-day suspension |
| DWAI, 2nd within 5 years | $500–$750 | up to 30 days | minimum 6-month revocation |
| DWAI, 3rd within 10 years (misdemeanor) | $750–$1,500 | up to 180 days | minimum 6-month revocation |
Fines exclude the mandatory surcharge and crime victims' fee; a third conviction within 10 years can bring higher fines, longer jail and even lifetime revocation; DMV decides when a license returns, and you must reapply and may have to retest. Under-21 license actions differ.
Ignition interlock and Leandra's Law: anyone convicted of DWI, aggravated DWI, or a penal offense with an alcohol violation as an element must install and keep an ignition interlock on every vehicle they own or drive for at least 12 months (the court may waive down to six months if the device was installed that long), at the driver's expense; the car will not start without an acceptable breath sample. Repeat offenders get an alcohol assessment and possibly treatment as a probation condition. Driving drunk with a child under 16 in the vehicle is a Class E felony with up to four years in prison (Leandra's Law), as is driving drunk on a conditional license, the restricted license DMV may issue after an alcohol conviction for essential trips such as work, school and medical visits; that license is revoked for breaking the court's terms or any traffic conviction other than parking, stopping or standing.
Other consequences: killing or injuring someone in an alcohol or drug violation can mean criminally negligent homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter or vehicular assault, with fines in the thousands and up to 25 years in prison. Driving while suspended or revoked carries a mandatory $200 to $1,000 fine and mandatory jail or probation, up to $5,000 and vehicle seizure if impaired when arrested. Liability insurance may not cover the damage, lawsuits and legal fees follow, and a criminal record hurts employment.
Repeat offenders
DMV reviews the lifetime record of anyone applying for reinstatement after a revocation. It permanently denies a license to an applicant with four alcohol or drug driving convictions or incidents in a lifetime, or three in the 25-year look-back plus at least one other serious driving offense (a fatal crash, a driving-related penal conviction, 20 or more points in the look-back, or two or more convictions each worth five points or more). An applicant with three alcohol or drug incidents in 25 years but no serious offense waits five extra years beyond the revocation (two years if the revocation was not alcohol-related), then gets a restricted license, with an interlock for five years. Drivers revoked or suspended twice in 25 years can no longer shorten the term through the Impaired Driver Program.
Under 21 and open containers
The legal purchase and possession age is 21. Using a license or ID as proof of age to buy alcohol illegally suspends the license or the privilege to apply. Under Zero Tolerance, a driver under 21 with any measurable BAC (.02 to .07) is suspended six months after a DMV hearing, pays a $100 termination fee and a $125 civil penalty, and a second violation revokes the license for at least one year or until 21, whichever is longer.
Open container: a driver or passenger who drinks alcohol, possesses an open alcoholic container, or consumes cannabis in a vehicle on a public road commits a traffic infraction: up to $150, a surcharge, a crime victim fee and up to 15 days jail for a first offense, more within 18 months. Passengers in stretch limousines and other vehicles with a U.S. or state DOT commerce certificate are exempt.
How to avoid trouble
Rotate a designated driver who drinks nothing; stay overnight or ride with a sober friend; hand your keys to someone who will not return them; take a cab, a ride share or transit; drink slowly, alternating with non-alcoholic drinks; never consume cannabis before driving; do not make alcohol the focus of the event; and if you have had too much, stop drinking several hours before leaving so your BAC can fall.
Practise this with New York Driver License questions
More of this guide
Class D, DJ, E and M licenses, REAL ID and Enhanced licenses, the six-point proof system, the 20-question written test, learner permit rules by region, junior license restrictions, the 5-hour course and road test, and renewals.
The 60-day and 120-day junior sanctions, the six-month probation for new drivers, mandatory suspensions and revocations, the Zero Tolerance law, the point system with the 11-points-in-24-months rule, and the Driver Responsibility Assessment.
Registering and titling a car, proof of ownership and disclosure statements, liens, sales tax, the 25/50/10 liability minimums, turning in plates, and the annual safety and emissions inspection.
Sign shapes and colors, STOP and YIELD, every traffic light including turns on red and the New York City rule, lane-use control lights, edge and lane lines, stop lines and crosswalks, diamond lanes, and traffic officers.
Who yields at intersections, emergency vehicles and the Move Over law, blue, green and amber lights, turn positions lane by lane, where U-turns are illegal, when you may pass on the right, stopping for school buses, parallel parking and where you may never park.
The two-second rule, the 55 mph default and 25 mph in New York City, seat belt and child seat law with fines and points, doubled work-zone fines, how to drive a roundabout, drowsy driving, the hand-held phone and texting penalties, and vehicle checks.
Grade crossing rules and what to do when stalled on tracks, entering and leaving expressways, headlight and high-beam rules, hydroplaning, winter driving and skids, deer season, and every emergency from blowouts to going into water.
Yielding to pedestrians and blind pedestrians, bicycle rules and equipment, why motorcycles are hard to see, moped classes, truck blind spots and stopping distance, what to do and report after a crash, and which driver assistance features the road test allows.