What Is the Legal Blood Alcohol Level in Georgia?
Georgia law Enforcement uses a 0.08% BAC level when making decisions about who to arrest for Driving Under the Influence. A BAC reading of 0.08% or higher creates a presumption of guilt in a Georgia DUI prosecution. For commercial drivers, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.04 percent. Georgia does not have a special BAC requirement for underage drivers, allowing a legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The Georgia State Patrol’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Manual states: The legal limit for intoxication is 0.08% BAC. A BAC at or above 0.08% is prima facie evidence that the driver is under the influence of alcohol . The (Georgia DUI Alcohol Test) results must be submitted to court; however, the law does not require any BAC in order to charge a driver under the DUI law. Simply stated, you can arrest, test, and charge all drivers observed to be under the influence without the benefit of a breath test or blood test result.
Georgia law defines blood alcohol concentration (BAC) as the number of grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. For example, if test samples are provided in millilitres, the figure should be multiplied by 100, e.g., 0.08 mg/ml = 8 mg/100 ml = 8 grams/100 ml = 8/100 g/ml.
How is Blood Alcohol Level Measured?
The legal blood alcohol level for driving in Georgia depends upon the type of vehicle you’re driving. If you’re convicted of driving under the influence, you may be facing a fine; however, that’s not the worst thing that can happen. If your case is bad enough, you could lose your license, or even worse, wind up in jail. Even though there are several different ways of testing blood alcohol levels, there is only one legal limit in Georgia: .08. In some cases, the amount of alcohol in your system may be considerably more or less than that, but still count as driving under the influence.
How is blood alcohol levels measured in Georgia?
Breathalyzers are the most common method used to measure blood alcohol levels. When an officer suspects that someone is drunk or stoned, she’ll typically pull them over to the side of the road and conduct a field sobriety test. Once she’s satisfied that the person is drunk, she’ll ask them to take a breath test. This device is similar to a home breathalyzer, used to determine whether someone has been drinking, and it will spit out a number when the test is complete. If the test shows .08 or higher, the officer will charge the driver with being drunk and taking him or her into custody. She’ll then issue them formal charges, and might even conduct further tests for the sake of evidence. Either way, if the breathalyzer shows a .08 or higher, the driver is probably going to be charged with DUI.
However, officers in Georgia may also use a blood test to determine the amount of alcohol present in someone’s system. Some believe that this method is actually more accurate than a breath test because the breathalyzer can only measure the amount of alcohol in your lungs at that moment, and then compare it to the amount of alcohol in your blood system. But a blood test actually requires a sample of blood from the driver, which is either drawn from a finger or a vein in the arm by a medical professional. This, of course, is much more invasive than a breath test, and can sometimes take hours to complete before the driver can even be released. Of course, people being taken into custody are almost always a little apprehensive about giving blood.
Blood tests are not served to all drivers in Georgia, and are only needed if the driver does not agree to take a breath test.*
*Note: Drivers in Georgia do have the legal right to refuse a breath test, but doing so will probably result in their arrest and having their license taken away. That said, anyone who’s had too much to drink or is under the influence of drugs should always refuse a breath test.
Penalties in Georgia for Being Over the Legal BAC Level
In Georgia, the consequences for drivers operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit can be severe. If a driver in Georgia is found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher, he or she may be considered legally intoxicated under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392. This law applies to personal vehicles, as well as commercial vehicles and heavy machinery; however, for commercial and large vehicle drivers, the legal BAC threshold is lower at just .04%. Even in a situation in which the driver is under the legal limit, being found guilty of a DUI can result in severe penalties, including the loss of one’s license, fines, and possible imprisonment.
For a first-time DUI offense, a driver may face fines of between $300 and $1,000, jail time of up to one year, 40 hours of community service, and the potential for a driver’s license suspension of up to one year. If the driver has a previous DUI charge on his or her record, the penalties for a DUI conviction become more severe. Penalties for a second DUI conviction are a fine of at least $600, jail time of up to one year, 60 days of community service, and a one year suspension of the driver’s license. A third DUI conviction leads to a minimum fine of $1,000, jail time of up to one year, 180 days of community service, and a one year driver’s license suspension. For a fourth conviction of driving under the influence, a driver may face fines of $1,000 up to $10,000, jail time of between one year and five years, 240 days of community service, and a permanent driver’s license suspension.
How BAC Levels Affect Driving Ability
Evidence has shown that even small amounts of alcohol change and reduce your ability to drive. This makes it easy to be fooled into believing that you are not intoxicated. As a result, you may still be charged with and convicted for a DUI if you are caught at .08 percent or higher in Georgia.
Alcohol affects your brain and body. In terms of functionality, it impairs your judgment and your ability to control your movements, impact your moods and your ability to focus, and impacts your vision and your reaction time. Small to moderate amounts of alcohol can restrict your movements, reduce your ability to think and act quickly , close your field of vision, and affect your ability to track your movements. If alcohol affects your visual system, it will also affect your balance and depth perception, which makes it easier for you to go from alert to impaired.
There is no safe amount to drink. When you drink, you are at risk for being involved in a collision, even if you only had a few drinks. Because there is no way to know how alcohol will affect your body, how well you will react to it, and how it will affect your thinking, even in small amounts, walking, driving, swimming, biking, playing sports, and even just sitting around becomes risky.
Georgia Defenses for Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
A variety of legal defenses may be available to challenging an arrest for DUI in the State of Georgia. When an officer pulls you over, there are strict rules of how the officer must act to comply with the law. The legality of the traffic stop may, itself, provide a strong defense if the officer stopped the vehicle without having the legal authority to do so. In addition, while Georgia law says an officer can require a blood test if he or she suspects you are under the influence of alcohol, it does not prevent the results of non-compliant blood tests from being excluded from evidence at trial if such an inaccurate test is given. This is true because it is a violation of Georgia state law for law enforcement to draw blood without a warrant and without probable cause. In addition, the test must be conducted by a qualified laboratory. If the lab violates its own rules in obtaining the test, the results can be excluded from trial.
Ways to Prevent and Avoid Drunk Driving
While understanding the legal blood alcohol level is important for legal and safety reasons, there are proactive steps that you can take to ensure that your personal BAC level doesn’t exceed Georgia limits. These include: Designated Drivers – Using a designated driver is always the best option when planning a night of entertainment that may involve alcohol. Your designated driver should be someone who has not had any alcohol and will not consume any over the course your activities. Designating a sober driver is particularly important since it gives others on the road safety knowing that a possibly drunk driver will not be on the road at all. Ride Sharing Services – If you don’t have a designated driver, a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft is one of the safest ways to get home after drinking. The cost of rideshare services can be less than the price of a night in jail, as well as the liability you have if you injure someone in an accident . Know Your Limits – The only certain way to know that you are below Georgia’s BAC limit is to completely abstain from alcohol. However, if you wish to drink in moderation, you can minimize the chances that you reach Georgia’s 0.08 percent legal blood alcohol level limit by knowing how much alcohol it takes to reach that level. For most people, one drink an hour will keep them under the legal limit if they are sober and healthy. Practice Responsible Drinking – You should also practice responsible drinking if you plan to consume alcohol. Eating food prior to or while drinking will slow the absorption rate of alcohol and greatly reduce the risk of driving over the legal limit. Heavy alcohol consumption will result in a greater BAC. Being exhausted, dehydrated, and sick will also increase the effects of alcohol, which will in turn increase your BAC level.
Leave a Reply