DC Rolls Out Tougher Law on Impaired Driving, Reinstates Breath Test

DC now has a tougher impaired driving law that gives law enforcement officers and prosecutors the tools needed to address both first-time and repeat offenders. It also reinstates the use of breath-alcohol testing devices, which had been suspended because of accuracy issues that may have produced erroneous results.

DC Mayor Vincent Gray signed into law the Comprehensive Impaired Driving Act of 2012. It applies to both private individuals and drivers of commercial vehicles, including taxicabs, limos, shuttle buses, and 18-wheelers.

“Public safety is one of my priorities, and with this law my administration is sending a strong message that driving drunk is a serious crime and violators will be prosecuted vigorously,” Mayor Gray said. “We believe this new law will deter drunk drivers in passenger and commercial vehicles in the District and make us a model for the nation.”

According to the press release, several of the changes include:

• Maximum incarceration periods and fines will increase. For example, a first-time offender could be incarcerated up to 180 days and fined up to $1,000. The previous limit was 90 days in jail and a $300 fine.
• For convicted first-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration of .20 percent or higher, or repeat DUI offenders, the mandatory minimum jail sentence doubles from five to 10 days; for people with .25 percent or higher, it goes from 10 to 15 days, and it creates a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 days for those with blood alcohol concentrations of .30 percent or higher.
• Offenders with a minor child in the vehicle face a minimum five-day jail sentence for each child in a required child-restraint seat and 10 days if they are not.
• Blood alcohol limits for commercial vehicle operators are set at .04 percent, including vehicles for hire, for the first time. These drivers will be subject to a five-day mandatory minimum jail term in addition to any other penalty for which they qualify.
• The new law also creates a mandatory scientific oversight of MPD’s breath-testing programs and a certification program for law-enforcement officers using breath-test instruments, and requires the District to maintain policies and procedures governing the program. New devices to measure breath-alcohol content are undergoing final tests, and are expected to be in use by the Metropolitan Police Department in the near future.