Driving Under the Influence is an offense that most states, including Ohio, take very seriously. It used to be abbreviated to DUI, the initials to Driving Under the Influence. But more recently Ohio has made the Official name of the Offense Operating a Vehicle Impaired (OVI). OVI is very common partly because it is fairly easy for law enforcement to spot it. At the same time, even for all the publications and literature on the subject, it is hard to keep people from ignoring all the warnings and driving while impaired. But there is another reason why this offense is common. And that is because many of the offenders do not normally have a criminal mindset. It is a temptation that many of us have had to face before. Even if you are a responsible person and think you could never face an OVI conviction, you may want to be careful. Here is how you (yes, you) could get an OVI.
Driving When You Know You Should Not
This is an obvious way you can get an OVI. But as we said, even for people who are generally responsible, the temptation may arise now and then. For some people, there are not very many situations where they would even consider driving after consuming drugs or alcohol. But you never know if that situation exists until you are in it. Maybe there are extenuating circumstances. Maybe something happened that night that you didn’t expect when you started drinking. Or there just may come a night where you are simply inclined to do something you would not normally entertain.
Thinking You Know Your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
The legal limit for an adult’s BAC to operate a vehicle is 0.08% alcohol by volume (ABV). If a test ever finds that your BAC was at 0.08% or higher, that is enough to convict you of OVI. Even if you try to plan ahead and know your BAC, you could be wrong which could be the difference between no conviction and an OVI. There are a few reasons people get this wrong.
The one drink rule does not always work
Some say conventional wisdom is to only have one drink wherever you go if you are planning to drive. Well, that does not guarantee that your BAC will be below 0.08%. There are a lot of factors that go into how much alcohol stays in your blood and for how long.
The one drink per hour rule does not always work
Another “rule” we have all heard a lot is the idea that it takes an hour to metabolize an alcoholic beverage. While some vendors of alcohol may use that as a rule of thumb on who to serve and how much, it is by no means a fool-proof way of measuring your own BAC.
no one really knows what 0.08% feels like
Most people do not know their bodies so well they can tell their ABV by how they feel. You could be at the same ABV on two different nights and it could feel different for whatever reason. Maybe you are very intentional about knowing your body and how certain things feel in your system. But you should know that if you test at or above 0.08% abc when you have been driving, this is not a defense.
personally owneed BREATHALYZERS may not be fool proof
Using a breathalyzer is not in itself a bad idea. It can be a good extra precaution and it can even be court ordered if you have previous OVIs. But they are not necessarily reliable enough to be your sole means of knowing your BAC. You should still take other precautions. Mainly because you cannot use the police officer’s test before you drive. And if that test disagrees with yours, yours will not hold as much weight in court.
You Do Not Need to Fail a Test to be Convicted of OVI
There are two main situations where you can get an OVI without failing a breath test or other chemical test. For one thing, the police can arrest you for OVI because you seem to be impaired. This is another reason why you cannot always trust rules like “one beer if you are driving” or “one drink per hour.” If you have one beer, jump right in your car, get pulled over and smell like a beer, you are risking an OVI conviction. Secondly, some people refuse the breath test. Refusing the test is actually illegal because of Ohio’s Implied Consent Laws. Not only is this law written into the Ohio Revised Code, but you also sign an agreement to it to get an Ohio driver’s license. Refusing the test directly results in a one year suspension of your driver’s license. This suspension is the penalty for violating the Implied Consent Law. Indirectly, a refusal can contribute to an OVI conviction. And the penalties for an OVI with a refusal are slightly different from the penalties with a failed test.
Conclusion
The best way to handle a DUI/OVI situation is to not get charges at all, but sometimes it is too late for that. If that is the situation you are in, feel free to contact Dearie, Fischer & Martinson. Our expert attorneys have over thirty years of experience in Criminal, Traffic, and OVI cases in Southwestern Ohio.
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