Of course, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is unsafe for you and other people. Usually, it’s unsafe to drive under the influence of any substance in any state in the United States lawfully. In Arizona, for instance, before you drive a vehicle, you must undergo a drug test with your consent. You’ll get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Arizona. Let’s take a look at what you’ll experience from the first experience of this DUI arrest.
- Arizona has zero alcohol tolerance
The first point to note about Arizona’s law is the zero tolerance for alcohol. This means that you can be charged for DUI so far your blood and alcohol level surpasses the legally acceptable level. So irrespective of if you’re driving under alcohol influence, if you have a high alcohol level in your blood, you can be charged. All the officer needs are to suspect you and take a test; when the blood test proves it right, you’ll be charged. By the way, get your Arizona Ignition Interlock here.
- There are different charges
There are different charges you face for DUI in Arizona. They depend on the amount of alcohol, the purpose of your driving, and age. Based on the amount of alcohol you take, the culpable alcohol concentration is 0.08 for a normal DUI and 0.15 for an extreme DUI. If you’re driving for a commercial purpose, 0.04 is the limit. If you’re below 21, an alcohol concentration of as low as 0.001 is culpable.
- Blood and urine test
When you get suspected of driving under substance influence, the police officer will first suspect you. The suspicion may come from your driving speed, your looks, or even your speech. Once a police officer suspects you, the first request will be to submit a test of your blood alcohol content. You can get this through a urine or blood test. This is the first way any officer will confirm their claim and the extent of the alcohol abuse.
- Financial fine
Based on the extent of your alcohol concentration, you get a fine. As we have mentioned, the culpable levels of concentration of 0.08, 015, and 0.20. For the 0.08 case, you’ll pay a fine of $1250. For the concentration of 0.15, you have an extreme case, and you’ll pay a fine of $2500. For the concentration level of 0.20, you have a super-extreme case, and you’ll pay a fine between $3200 and $3500.
- Community services
Community service for a first DUI charge in Arizona is mostly an optional and additional punishment. It depends largely on how much alcohol volume you have in your system, the reaction to the police officer, and other factors like a child being in the car. For both normal and extreme DUI cases, community service may be considered.
- Jail term
In Arizona, driving under alcohol influence can attract jail terms, and this jail term depends on the alcohol concentration. For the 0.08 concentration, you have a mandatory jail term of 10 consecutive days. For the 0.15 concentration, you have a mandatory jail term of thirty days. While for the 0.20 concentration, you have a mandatory jail term of forty-f8ve days.
- In most cases, after your trial, you’re also mandated to drive all vehicles with an ignition interlock device.
