Whether or not it’s just one bottle or two, NEVER get behind the wheel whenever you’ve been ingesting.

From 2017 to 2019, there have been over 1,500 deadly motorized vehicle crashes in Washington. 500 (33%) concerned drunk driving.

Between 2017 and 2021, 32% of deadly crashes needed to do with drunk driving. 

As you possibly can see, driving below the affect (DUI) is SUPER harmful.

It additionally comes with in depth (and costly) penalties. 

For this reason it’s essential to know all of the Washington State DUI legal guidelines. 

As a result of, even when you don’t get into an accident, you possibly can nonetheless be charged with DUI. 

Immediately, we’re going to take a look at the legal guidelines, the penalties, and plenty of extra.

So let’s dive proper into it!

DUI Legal guidelines in Washington

Washington State has a number of legal guidelines related to driving below the affect. These embody:

• Unlawful BAC Ranges
• Marijuana
• Different Medication
• Implied Consent Legislation 
• Open Container Legislation

Let’s undergo them individually to make sure we cowl all of the necessities.

Unlawful BAC Ranges

Blood Alcohol Content material (BAC) refers back to the quantity of blood in your system. The upper it’s, the extra impaired you develop into. 

For grownup drivers, the authorized threshold of your BAC degree is 0.08%. Which means you have got eight drops of alcohol for each 100 drops of blood.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply driving with a decrease BAC degree is protected. 

In response to the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors and Security Administration, even a 0.02% BAC degree diminishes your driving skill.

That’s why underaged drivers (below 18 years previous) can not have a BAC degree of 0.02% or greater.

And whereas we’re at it, the unlawful BAC degree for these holding a industrial license is at 0.04%. 

Marijuana

Keep in mind, DUI stands for ’Driving Beneath the Affect’.

Alcohol isn’t the one substance that will affect you.

The second commonest is marijuana.

Whether or not you smoke or ingest it, marijuana poses a threat whenever you’re behind the wheel. 

And sure, this is applicable to consuming marijuana-infused meals too. 

This drug impacts your driving skill — automobile dealing with, distance estimation, and response time, amongst others — for as much as 5 hours.

In Washington, you can be charged with DUI you probably have a:

• THC/marijuana degree of 5.00 nanograms per milliliter of blood or extra (for drivers 21 and older)
• Any THC/marijuana degree (when you’re below 21)

Different Medication

Since we’re speaking about medication, know that marijuana isn’t the one substance that may land you a DUI cost. 

Even over-the-counter medicine could have an effect on your skill to function a automobile.

For instance, medicines for colds and complications usually make you drowsy. Uppers, like power drinks and fat burners, could trigger anxiousness and lack of focus.

Some pharmaceuticals have the identical results as alcohol, so don’t hesitate to debate the potential after-effects together with your physician or pharmacist when you drive recurrently.

Total, just remember to don’t consumption any drug which may have an effect on your driving. 

In case you do, then a DUI cost could also be looming on the horizon. 

Implied Consent Legislation 

Okay, however how can regulation officers decide your BAC or marijuana/drug degree? 

Nicely, if they think you of DUI, they are going to pull you over and have you ever take a chemical take a look at. 

These assessments require you to present a pattern of your blood or urine or take a breathalyzer. The outcomes decide your BAC and determine any substance in your system contributing to your driving impairment.

Now, below the Implied Consent Legislation, each driver in Washington State has to take the take a look at when requested. 

You agreed, or gave consent, to this whenever you obtained your WA-issued driver’s license. 

What when you insist on refusing the take a look at? 

You possibly can — however it means dropping your driving privileges for at the least a 12 months.

Open Container Legislation

Washington’s Open Container regulation is extra of a DUI prevention.

This regulation prohibits the next:

• Consuming marijuana or ingesting alcohol in a automobile whereas on the freeway.
• Having any vessel containing an alcoholic drink with an opened or damaged seal or a few of its contents consumed.
• Misrepresenting the contents of a container by placing a label indicating that it’s a non-alcoholic or non-marijuana substance.
• Having any open container of alcohol or marijuana in any accessible storage compartment of your automobile.

Washington State DUI Penalties

After we coated Implied Consent, we already talked about that refusing to take a take a look at will end in dropping your driving privileges. Particularly, that’s a 1-year license suspension.

However what in case your BAC degree reaches or exceeds the authorized restrict?

The desk under particulars the penalties you possibly can count on inside seven years:

Nevertheless, the penalties are extra extreme in case your BAC degree registers at .15% or greater.

The penalties get much more harsh in case your DUI causes any injury, accidents, or demise — or you probably have a underage little one with you. 

In these instances, the courtroom will determine your penalty. 

Restricted Driver License in Washington

After dropping your driving privileges, there’s just one approach so that you can get again behind the wheel (earlier than the suspension interval ends). 

You possibly can apply for a Restricted Driver’s License.

Nevertheless, count on a specialist to guage your driving report. Primarily based on that, you would possibly get both of those:

• An Ignition Interlock License (IIL). It permits you to drive autos which have ignition interlock gadgets put in.

• An Occupational/Restricted Driver’s License (ORL). You need to use it to go to and from the next:
  • Work
  • Faculty
  • Court docket-ordered providers
  • Persevering with healthcare
  • Persevering with help for a dependent
  • Employment program

Restricted licenses don’t simply restrict your privileges to particular autos or locations. It might additionally embody occasions of day or days of the week. 

You possibly can learn extra about restricted license eligibility necessities on the WA Division of Licensing’s web site.

Deferred Prosecution in Washington 

What’s a deferred prosecution? 

It’s for many who undergo from substance or alcohol habit or have psychological well being challenges. 

In that case, the DUI conviction takes a again seat. 

As an alternative, the precedence turns into finishing an permitted remedy program.

The Division of Licensing dismisses your costs when you’ve fulfilled all court-ordered necessities and completed your remedy program.

Nevertheless, you solely have one probability to make use of the deferred prosecution possibility in your lifetime.

FAQs About Washington State DUI Legal guidelines

Listed below are the questions most drivers ask about DUI legal guidelines in Washington State.

Why is Consuming and Driving so Harmful?

Alcohol is a downer. It slows down your central nervous system.

That interprets to the impairment of the next:

• Judgment
• Imaginative and prescient
• Focus
• Understanding
• Response Time
• Senses

All of those are essential to making sure you stay protected on the street.

How Do You Stop DUI?

Listed below are some methods you need to use to keep away from a DUI:

• Have a meal and preserve hydrated
• In case you’re with pals, assign a delegated driver (who shouldn’t drink)
• Use an Uber or a Lyft as a substitute of driving your self

What’s the Minimal Jail Time for DUI in Washington State?

On the very least, you’ll have to spend sooner or later behind bars after a DUI conviction. Nevertheless, if it’s your first in seven years, you possibly can keep away from it by agreeing to fifteen days of home arrest OR 90 days in a sobriety program. 

How Lengthy Does a DUI Final in Washington?

Not like different states the place DUIs solely keep in your report for 7 to 10 years, it stays in your Washington driving historical past completely (nicely, 99 years).

Can a DUI Be Dismissed in Washington?

Regardless of the state’s strict DUI legal guidelines, dismissal is feasible in sure instances.

For instance, even when your BAC exceeds the authorized restrict, your protection legal professional can request the suppression of the chemical take a look at outcomes. With this, it’s essential to show that the arresting officer didn’t have possible trigger to tug you over.

What to Do After a DUI in Washington?

The very first thing it is best to do after a DUI arrest is get a lawyer. 

You need to use your personal illustration (you probably have one). However when you don’t, regulation enforcement could have an on-call legal professional.

Subsequent, ask for a listening to. You solely have seven days to do that. In case you don’t, the DOL mechanically suspends your license for 90 days to 2 years (they’ll consider your driving historical past for this).

Understand that getting a listening to doesn’t imply you’ll get off scot-free. It won’t go your approach, and also you’ll nonetheless lose your driving privileges anyway. 

How Lengthy is Probation for DUI in Washington State?

In Washington, probation means the courtroom has suspended a portion or the whole thing of your sentence. For this, it’s essential to adjust to some situations in return.

Anybody with a DUI conviction in Washington goes by a 5-year probation interval.

The Wrap Up

That was rather a lot!

Washington takes DUIs critically, which is why it has so many rules related to it.

And that is why, as a accountable driver, it is best to obey all of the Washington State DUI legal guidelines. 

I imply, you don’t need to face the tough penalties…

Or worse, get into an accident and trigger an damage and even demise. 

All issues out of the way in which, there’s just one factor it’s essential to do — NEVER DRINK OR TAKE DRUGS AND DRIVE!