Mind-Body and Inner-Self and Felicia Ivey-Toure under the initiative Innovative Basics are pleased to offer New York City Criminal Court and Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) approved DWI Screening and Assessments.
Drunk driving is the undertaking of operating and/or driving a motorized vehicle that includes boating and airplane piloting while under the influence of alcohol and/or other mood and judgment altering substances the extent that that those mental and motor skills are impaired.
It is illegal in all states, districts, commonwealths and jurisdictions within the United States to operate a motorized vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or other mood and judgment altering substances. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above a proscribed level, 0.08 percent.
There are various criminal infractions that may result from operating a vehicle in a impaired state with the most common offense termed as Driving Under the Influence [of alcohol and/or other substances] (DUI), and in some states driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while impaired (OWI), or operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI). License suspension or revocation traditionally follows conviction for alcohol-impaired driving.
Under a procedure called administrative license suspension, licenses are taken before conviction when a driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test. Because administrative license suspension laws are independent of criminal procedures and are invoked right after arrest, they've been found to be more effective than traditional post-conviction sanctions. Administrative license suspension laws are in place in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
Some offenders in 46 states and the District of Columbia are permitted to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks. These devices analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition if the driver has been drinking. In 32 states, multiple offenders may have to forfeit their vehicles. Laws prohibiting the driver, passengers, or both from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle are in place in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
In New York State the following DUI/ DWI laws implies:
| BAC defined as illegal per se |
Administrative license suspension 1st offense? |
Restore driving privileges during suspension? |
Do penalties include interlock |
Vehicle forfeiture for multiple offenses |
Open container laws |
| 0.08 |
Variable In New York, administrative license suspension lasts until prosecution is complete. |
Yes
Drivers usually must demonstrate special hardship to justify restoring privileges during suspension, and then privileges often are restricted |
Yes |
Yes |
Driver/Passenger |
What are DWI/DUI educational classes?
DWI/DUI educational classes are designed to assist drivers in preventing the same criminal offense again. If you have been arrested in New York State then the following will most likely occur:
- Upon conviction, all 1st offenders attending the Drinking Driver Program and all repeat offenders receive a mandatory alcohol assessment/evaluation to determine the nature and extent of their alcohol problems for license reinstatement.
- The assessment is conducted after sentencing and the individual does not return to court for final sentencing based on assessment in some locations.
- Assessments are conducted by a state-certified private agency or individual provider. The average cost is approximately $175 for 1st offenders as part of the Drinking Driver program and is variable for other offenders.
- Evaluations to determine if treatment is necessary for all repeat DWI offenders are mandatory for re-licensing. The offenders are required to attend alcohol education or treatment as recommended by the assessment provider.
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