What is DWI in Minnesota?

What is DWI in the state of Minnesota? Like most other states, Minnesota also sets the maximum alcohol limit in your system to 0.08%. Then you are drunk and the prosecutor doesn’t have to establish that the driver was driving dangerously as this amount of alcohol in the body is enough evidence that the person shouldn’t be behind a steering wheel.

Certainly, if an under age driver is stopped for suspected drunk driving and shows a positive amount of alcohol in their system, they can be found in violation of Minnesota’s zero-tolerance laws.

Drinking and Driving is no Joy Ride

Joy Rides and Shattered Lives

The drinking and driving rate dropped during COVID-19 lockdown but picked up when the economy opened up again. Every day in St Paul, Minnesota, what is DWI for doctors, but seeing the terrible toll that drunk driving takes on innocent lives. The bruised and broken bodies and shattered lives mean that it’s time the police cracked down more heavily on drink drivers.

The people of St Paul want change in the way the police and the law view impaired driving. They want to see stiffer penalties and they also want to see mandatory ignition interlock devices and longer jail sentences. The heavy death toll is simply telling them that the penalties are severe enough for the shattered lives left behind.

In Minnesota, there is a distinction between what is DWI and what is DUI in Minnesota. DWI stands for Driving While Intoxicated and what it essentially means is that someone was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.08.

There will be Penalties

A DUI or Driving Under the Influence is a bit different in that it doesn’t require the driver to have a specific level of alcohol in their system. However, what is DWI can be answered by saying it is also referred to as DUI, and whatever term you use, if caught with alcohol in your system, there will be criminal and administrative penalties.

Driving while intoxicated also could mean driving while under the influence of alcohol or some other drug that affects the body and impairs your driving abilities. A first-time DWI in Minnesota is a 4th-degree misdemeanor, but if aggravating factors are found, it can change to a 3rd degree DWI, which is considered a gross misdemeanor.

These aggravating factors could be having a child under the age of 16 with you in the car at the time of the DWI. It could also be a BAC of .16 or more, refusing to have a breath test and having a previous DWI conviction within the 10 years of the charge the drunk driver now has.

There’s a lot of Financial Loss

When you are pulled over because of DWI, it can spell a whole lot of trouble for you. For starters, it is punishable by spending time in jail as well as a fine, not to mention the legal expenses. However, as a first-time DWI without aggravating factors, you could get a stay of execution of any jail time in exchange for community service, it all depends.

Apart from these fines along with the legal costs, a first DWI can also result in a 90-day revocation of your driver’s license. If you are incarcerated, your place of employment will know about it, and if you were in line for any kind of promotion, you won’t be anymore. You’ll also be paying higher car insurance premiums.

Also, when you ask what is DWI in terms of driving for your company or being a commercial driver,  the blood alcohol concentration level for commercial drivers can’t be over 0.04 percent. If it is you can have your commercial driver’s license suspended for up to 10 years.

Lawyers with a Calming Influence

Landing yourself in such deep trouble will best be handled by legal experts and St Paul DUI Attorneys are available for this very purpose. It doesn’t help to just choose the first attorney out there – you need to do research and find one with the right set of skills and credentials and that will represent you adequately.

You don’t want to land yourself in more trouble but by making the wrong lawyer choices you could suffer more financial loss.

When you ask what is DWI in Minnesota, whether you refer to it as DUI or DWI, you need to know that a few hours of indulging in alcohol and then driving afterwards can have life long repercussions