North Carolina laws impose strict punishment on people who are caught driving while intoxicated in the state. Whether you have been charged with a DUI or are just a regular driver, you should be aware of your rights and duties on the road to avoid harsh penalties. Below is a brief guide to DUI laws in North Carolina.
Legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in North Carolina
Like most states in the country, it is illegal to drive in North Carolina, with a BAC of 0.08% or more. If you are driving a commercial vehicle, this limit is reduced to 0.04%. North Carolina follows zero tolerance law for underage drinking. Therefore, if you are younger than 21 years and are driving with any amount of alcohol in your system, you will be charged with a DWI.
The law recognizes that everyone’s body metabolizes alcohol at different rates, and people can be affected by alcohol and drugs even when their BAC is lower than the legal limit. Therefore, you can be charged with a DWI if your mental or physical fitness is impaired by alcohol or drugs when your BAC is lower than 0.08%.
The BAC restriction gets stricter with subsequent offenses. Once your license is restored after your first DWI conviction, you cannot drive with a BAC of 0.04% or higher. Second or subsequent convictions further decrease it to 0.00%. This restriction also applies in the following cases:
- Conviction for DWI in a commercial vehicle
- Conviction for felony death by a vehicle.
Implied Consent Laws in North Carolina
If you drive a vehicle in North Carolina, you have legally consented to submit to tests that can determine the presence of alcohol and drugs in your system. However, you still retain the right to refuse the test.
If you refuse the test, your license is revoked immediately for 30 days, and your refusal is admissible as evidence in the trial. You will also face a one-year license revocation by the DMV. Moreover, the enforcement officer can later obtain a search warrant to obtain your blood, breath or urine samples, and you may be compelled to take the test.
If you are unconscious or incapable of refusing the test, the enforcement officer can assume consent and obtain a blood, breath or urine sample for chemical analysis.
DUI Penalties in North Carolina
North Carolina laws prescribe six levels of punishments for DWI misdemeanors. During the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor will attempt to present evidence of the gross aggravating factors and aggravating factors and the defense will try to prove mitigating factors present in the case. These factors determine the final penalties.
Gross aggravating factors include:
- Prior DWI conviction within the last seven years. Each prior conviction is considered a separate gross aggravating factor.
- Driving while license was already revoked for impaired driving.
- Impaired driving with a minor or a person with a physical disability that prevents unaided exit in the vehicle.
- Causing serious injury to another person.
Aggravating factors include:
- Gross impairment of faculties or BAC of 0.15% or higher.
- Reckless or dangerous driving.
- Negligent driving that led to an accident.
- Driving while license was revoked.
- Previous impaired driving convictions that occurred more than seven years ago or other motor vehicle offense convictions that occurred within five years.
- Speeding while fleeing or attempting to elude apprehension.
- Speeding by at least 30 mph over the speed limit.
Mitigating factors include:
- Slight impairment solely caused by alcohol and BAC 0.09% or lower.
- Slight impairment solely caused by alcohol, and no BAC test was made available.
- Safe driving record in the last five years.
- Safe and lawful operation of the vehicle except for the DWI.
- Impairment resulted from a prescribed medication.
- Voluntary submission to a mental health assessment after being charged.
- Completion of a substance abuse assessment, complying with the recommendations and 60 days of abstinence from alcohol through an alcohol monitoring system.
Probation and community service may be possible in certain instances. If you have three or more prior DWI convictions in the last ten years, you will be charged with a felony for your fourth DWI. It results in a minimum one-year mandatory jail sentence.
License Suspension
What to Expect After a DUI Arrest in North Carolina
After you are arrested for DWI, the arresting officer will ask you to take a chemical test to check your BAC levels. The test can only be conducted by a chemical analyst or a law enforcement officer authorized to administer chemical analysis of breath. The chemical analyst conducting the test will provide you with a written notice of your rights. You can refuse the test, but your license will be suspended for a year if you refuse.
You can call an attorney or select witnesses for the testing procedure, but the test cannot be delayed longer than 30 minutes after you are notified of your rights. Your BAC test results and the fact of your refusal are admissible as evidence in court.
If you refuse to take the test or your BAC comes out to be 0.08% or more (0.04% or more if you were driving a commercial vehicle or 0.01% or more if you are under the age of 21), your license will be revoked for at least 30 days. In case of refusal, you will further receive a one-year revocation from the Division of Motor Vehicles. You have the right to a hearing before the DMV to challenge the revocation.