Number 248                                                                                                    May 2001

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590

Enhanced Sanctions For Higher Bacs
A Summary Of States' Laws

Enhanced sanctions for drivers convicted a second or third time for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) have been in place for many years. Recently, many states have considered hard core offenders as those drivers who are arrested with high blood alcohol concentration (BACs). Twenty-nine states have a statute, regulation, or rule that provides for differential treatment for DUI offenders with higher BACs (than the state's standard illegal limit) such as .15 or .20 BACs, even for drivers who are first time offenders.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored a study by Preusser Research Group to examine whether these higher sanctions for higher BACs are effective in reducing DUI recidivism and alcohol-related crashes in selected states. The study will document how the law is being enforced and any problems the states are having in implementing or enforcing the law. The first step in this project is to summarize the high BAC systems in the 29 states.

Enactment of Systems

Most of the 29 states enacted their high BAC statutes since 1990. Ten states have implemented laws since 1998, and five more states recently have strengthened their existing high BAC sanctions. Some states noted widespread public support for the legislation and most states reported little opposition.

States with more extensive or more recent sanctions reported higher levels of publicity about the sanctions. Jail or vehicle-based sanctions, in particular, received considerable press attention in some states.

States define high BAC in various ways and the threshold ranges from .15 to .20 BAC. Some states selected the average BAC of offenders as the threshold. Other states set the threshold at double the legal BAC limit.

Types of Sanctions for First Offenders

The types of sanctions for high BAC first offenders include the following:

• Longer or more intensive education or treatment
• Additional or enhanced driver sanctions such as jail, license sanctions, or fines
• Use of vehicle sanctions such as ignition interlocks and vehicle plate impoundment

Implementation Concerns

Most states reported few problems with implementing high BAC sanctions. Several noted concerns that include:

• High BAC sanctions may further complicate an already complicated DUI system
• Higher sanctions may increase the number of BAC test refusals at time of arrest
• Courts and/or prosecutors may allow high BAC offenders to plead down to a lower charge
• Courts may view the high BAC penalties as burdensome and thus fail to impose the penalties
• Concerns about jail overcrowding and limited availability of treatment facilities may limit the effectiveness of these jail sanctions.

29 States with Enhanced Sanctions for Higher BACs

HOW TO ORDER

For a copy of Evaluation of Enhanced Sanctions for Higher BACs: Summary of States' Laws(26 pages plus appendices), write to the Office of Research and Traffic Records, NHTSA, NTS-31, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, fax (202) 366-7096, or download from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ Amy Berning was the contract manager for this project.

U.S. Department
of Transportation
National Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-31
Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Tech is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff
Traffic Safety Programs
(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096
E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov