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While you should never drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, some states aren’t as forgiving as others. Arizona is one of them, with harsh DUI laws. The goal is to keep the roads safe for all. A mistake like this could cost you plenty of money, your driving privileges, and jail time. It can make it hard to get affordable vehicle insurance coverage too.

There is a statute of limitations in Arizona when it comes to DUI. A person must be charged within one year of the date of the offense. Typically, the charges will be filed much faster than that. It can take some time to determine which category they fall under and the consequences to impose. Not all of the DUI cases are cut and dried.

Zero-Tolerance

Arizona has a zero-tolerance policy in place for DUI. If your blood alcohol is .08 you can be arrested. The state has 3 different types of DUIs a person can be charged under. Some variables influence which an officer is going to put on the citation. The blood alcohol level is only part of the equation.

If the individual has any previous convictions for DUI the consequences can be more severe. The same is true if there are any minors in the vehicle at the time someone is charged with a DUI in Arizona. A DUI will be considered standard, extreme, or super extreme.

Standard

For a first DUI offense where the BAC (blood alcohol content) is .08 or less, the offender will be sentenced to 10 days in jail. The driving privileges can be suspended for a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 365 days. An interlock device will be required for 12 months after the license is reinstated. The costs for monitoring and other fees can exceed $1,500.

If this is a second offense without any additional factors or an extreme BAC, the driver will face up to 90 days in jail. They may be able to pay for home arrest monitoring after 6 days if they have a job and other favorable criteria. The driving privileges will be suspended for 1 year followed by an interlock system required for a year after it is reinstated. 30 hours of community service is mandated. The total cost can exceed $3,500.

Extreme

A DUI in Arizona where the BAC is over .15 is considered extreme. For a first offense, there are 10 days mandated in jail. The jail sentence can be up to 30 days, but the offender may be able to do the remainder of it at home on house arrest. A counseling program is required and driving privileges will be suspended for 3 months. Interlock is mandatory for 12 months after the license is reinstated. The cost is about $2,750.

A second offense at this level in Arizona is going to result in 120 days of jail time. The offender can apply for house arrest after 10 days. Counseling is required and the driver will lose their license for a year. An interlock system has to be used for a year after they get it back. 30 hours of community service is mandated. The cost averages $3,700.

Super Extreme

When the BAC is .20 or higher, the DUI is considered super extreme in Arizona. The offender will receive 45 days in jail. After 10 days they can do the remainder on house arrest if eligible. Counseling is required and they will not be able to drive for 90 days. An interlock system will be required when they drive again for the following 18 months. The cost is about $3,200.

For a second offense in the super extreme category, the offender can be given 180 days in jail. They may be able to do it at home if the second DUI in this category isn’t close in time to the first one. Their driving privileges will be revoked for 1 year and they must have an interlock system for 2 years once they get it back. 30 hours of community service is required. The cost can exceed $4, 600.

Repeat Offenders

The DUI laws in Arizona are designed to deter people from driving under the influence. The consequences are created to ensure they think twice about repeating such an offense. Despite all of this, some are repeat offenders. They continue to get behind the wheel even though they have been in trouble before. Many of them are driving without a license due to a previous conviction for similar charges.

Additional Criminal Charges

Many of the DUI laws in Arizona result in a misdemeanor conviction. However, there are times when those charges can be considered a felony. For example, when someone causes an accident or when they were driving with a minor child in the vehicle. If they stole a vehicle or they were driving without a license that can also mean additional charges.

Each case is evaluated independently. The statutes to determine felony or misdemeanor DUI in Arizona are designed to deliver tougher consequences for those that have additional violations. When there is a DUI arrest and they don’t have a valid license or they didn’t drive with a court mandated interlock system in place it is very serious.

Both will stay on your criminal record permanently. However, a misdemeanor is considered far less serious than a felony when it comes to employers and such. A felony conviction for a DUI in Arizona can prevent someone from being eligible for certain jobs or various licensures.

Minor Children in the Vehicle

When there is a minor in the vehicle under the age of 15, the charge can be aggravated DUI in Arizona. In addition to the typical DUI consequences, the individual is likely going to be arrested rather than given a citation. The vehicle will be impounded. The Department of Human Services will be contacted to take the child into their care and investigate where to place them.

They may be released to a family member or family friend. The department has to verify the child will be well-cared for in this new environment. If such an individual can’t be located right away the child will be placed into foster care. The fines are significantly higher when there is a minor child in the vehicle.

The individual will need to complete parenting classes. They may be given up to 5 years probation. It may be difficult to obtain visitation or to regain custody of a child once a person is convicted in Arizona of a DUI.

Involved in an Accident

Putting others at risk due to driving under the influence isn’t acceptable. The seriousness of the criminal charges depends on the factors involved and the severity of the accident. If the vehicle was speeding, there are injuries, or the driver had a high BAC they may spend a great deal of time in jail or even prison.

When an accident is the result of driving under the influence, the duty of care has not been executed by the driver. Any time a person gets behind the wheel they have to exercise the duty of care. This means they do all they can to keep everyone safe.

When a driver does something to breach this reasonable safety, they can be held liable for an accident. Driving and driving can impair the thought process, reaction time, and more. It can result in poor decisions while driving. The final link to this is the causation of the situation. It has to be reasonable to link the breach of duty of care as the underlying factor for the accident to occur.