According to North Carolina DUI laws, you can be charged with a DUI if you are found to have a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or higher, but if you are a commercial driver, the legal limit is .04 percent. Since the state has a “zero tolerance” policy, people under the age of 21 are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system. If individuals under the age of 21 refuse a chemical test, they can still be charged with a DUI if an officer smells alcohol on their breath. In the last few years, laws have been changed so that law enforcement is able to test for alcohol or drugs, so people can face DUI charges for impairment due to either.
Felony DUI Charges
According to North Carolina DUI laws, the first three times someone is charged with a DUI, it is considered a misdemeanor unless he or she has caused the death of or serious injury to another person. Once someone has been convicted of a DUI three times within seven years, he or she is considered to be a habitual DUI offender, and subsequent DUI charges will be felonies. A fourth DUI conviction carries a mandatory minimum of one year in jail that cannot be suspended.
Graded DUI Sentencing
North Carolina DUI laws have levels of charges that determine the types of penalties that individuals accused of DUI will face if they are convicted. The level of a DUI charge that someone will face is based on a number of aggravating and mitigating factors. Aggravating factors include having a BAC of .15 percent or higher, driving on a revoked license and speeding. Mitigating factors are ones that may reduce the level of a DUI charge, such as driving in a safe manner, a BAC of .09 percent or lower, impairment due to a prescription drug and participation in a treatment program. Individuals who drive with a child under the age of 18 will automatically face level-one DUI penalties.
The penalties for each level of DUI include license suspension, fines and jail time, increasing incrementally with each level. A level-five DUI, the least severe, carries penalties of a 30-day license suspension, a maximum $200 fine and 24 hours to 60 days in jail although the jail time may be turned into community service. With a level-one DUI, sentencing for conviction includes a 30-day license suspension, a substance abuse assessment, 12 to 36 months in jail and monitored abstaining from alcohol for four months after release from jail.
Implied Consent
As North Carolina is an implied consent state, you cannot avoid DUI charges by refusing to submit to a chemical test. Individuals may still be charged with a DUI if they do not submit, and they will also have their license revoked for 30 days. Unless someone is cleared at a hearing, their license will be suspended for a year, but they have the opportunity to apply for limited driving privileges after six months of suspension.
Vehicle Seizure
If someone is driving on a license suspended due to a previous drunk driving charges and an officer charges him or her with another DUI, the officer may seize the vehicle at the time of the arrest. Should the individual be convicted, the judge can declare the automobile forfeited, however, if the car is owned by someone else, that person will be able to have the vehicle returned to them.