Many people don’t realize that to be convicted of driving under the influence in Georgia you don’t necessarily have to be “drunk.” In August 2005, Georgia and the other states saw big changes when DUI laws are concerned. Now a person can be convicted of DUI as a result of a “per se” violation. Any driver found to be operating a motor vehicle at or above the state’s legal limit of .08% will be charged with DUI.
With this type of violation, the prosecution only needs to prove that the person’s blood alcohol content reached this level or higher. They do not have to proof that the driver was impaired by alcohol. But remember, the prosecution will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person’s results were accurate. Hiring an experienced Atlanta DUI law firm can help you refute a breath, urine or blood test as well as any field sobriety test results.
And speaking of the breath, urine and blood tests, did you know that Georgia has an Implied Consent Law, which requires drivers to take one of these chemical tests if police officers believe you have been drinking and driving? If you hold a Georgia driver’s license, you are essentially giving your consent to submit to a test. If you refuse to do so, you can automatically lose your license for up to one year.
The penalties for a DUI conviction are serious, especially with an enhanced penalty. This means that your blood alcohol content was not only over the legal limit, but was much higher. In Georgia, you will receive an enhanced penalty for having a BAC of .15% or .20%. As you may have guessed by its name, this means that you’ll face more harsh penalties like long-term driver’s license suspension, expensive fines and even jail time.
Even though Georgia has a legal limit of .08%, this does not apply to everyone. In fact, if you are under 21 years old and have a BAC of .02% or higher (essentially hardly any alcohol) in your system, you will be arrested for DUI. This is due to the state’s Zero Tolerance Law, which makes it illegal for anyone to consume alcohol if they are under 21 years old.
