DUI/DWI Terms and Definitions

Excessive Drunkenness
A state of drunkenness in which a person is so far deprived of reason and understanding that he or she is incapable of understanding the character and consequences of an act.

Controlled Substances
Health and other public concerns have generated detailed Federal and state regulation of the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and a wide range of other "controlled substances."

Legal State Limits
Laws for DWI and DUI vary from state-to-state. There is a chart listing state blood alcohol limits, license suspension, ignition interlock and forfeiture penalties.

Ignition Interlock Devices
The courts may require first and repeat DUI offenders to use Ignition Interlock Devices. To start the vehicle, the driver must blow into the device. The vehicle will not start if the driver's blood alcohol content exceeds 0.05%.

Field Sobriety Tests
Field Sobriety Tests sometimes referred to by the acronym FSTs, are tests administered by the police to purportedly assess intoxication.

Child endangerment
Most states now have some kind of child endangerment statute. Currently, 27 states have statutes that create special sanctions for cases of driving under the influence while the offender is transporting a child at the time of the offense.

Vehicular Homicide
Vehicular homicide is the killing of another person by one’s unlawful or negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

DUI
DUI is driving under the influence; it is the offense of operating a motor vehicle in a physically or mentally impaired condition, especially after consuming alcohol or drugs. Generally, this is a lesser offense than driving while intoxicated.

Administrative License Revocation (ALR)
Simply put, the DMV automatically revokes your license when you are arrested for DUI as part of its duty to regulate drivers’ licenses. (The court may also take your license, and may also fine or jail you.)

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
Horizontal gaze nystagmus is a naturally occurring involuntary jerking of the eyeballs as they gaze side to side. It is theorized that when a person is impaired by alcohol, the nystagmus (the jerking of the eyeballs) is magnified or pronounced.