Reader’s Question:

I still don’t understand the different laws here in Washington, DC especially the drunk driving laws. How can someone be arrested for DWI and how do they determine the level of intoxication of a driver?

Rose
Washington, DC

In Washington, DC, DWI laws allow motorists to be arrested for drunk driving based on one of the two theories. The first one is that if the person is driving and appears to be drunk, he/she could be arrested based on his/her driving patterns, physical appearance and field sobriety tests, without the need for blood alcohol content (BAC) chemical testing. If there would be enough circumstantial evidence to prove that the person is guilty for drunk driving, he/she would be arrested for DWI.

A driver could also be arrested based on the BAC chemical tests alone. This is how police officers determine the level of intoxication of a driver suspected for DWI. Under the District of Columbia’s DWI per se laws, motorists with a BSC level of 0.08% or greater could get arrested and be found guilty of DWI. This doesn’t require that the person’s driving pattern to be used to prove his/her guilt for DWI.

Tags: blood alcohol test, drunk driving laws, DWI, DWI arrest, DWI lawyer