Driving While Impaired By Alcohol And/ Or Drugs

In many states in the US, Driving While Impaired, DWI, is used interchangeably with the term DUI, driving under the influence. In other states, DWIs and DWAI's are used to create a distinct classification for specific cases of drunk driving. In Colorado, DWAIs, Driving While Ability Impaired, charges are lodged in instances where a person's Blood Alcohol Content, BAC, is below the Federal definition for a DUI, .08 percent. Colorado uses the charge of Driving While Ability is Impaired to take dangerous drivers off the road without treating them the same as drivers who drive following consuming greater amounts of alcohol. DWAI's charges are issued for individuals who have a BAC of above .05 but less than .08.Although the punishments for DWAI convictions tend to be less severe than those of DUIs, DWAI convictions still result in mandatory jail time in Colorado if an individual is convicted and repeat offenders lose their licenses and have longer jail sentences.

Like a DUI, the charge of Driving While Impaired can be applied to drugs other than alcohol. Typically this charge is a judgment call made by police based on a person's performance during a field sobriety test. Some drugs are difficult to test for in the blood stream and often even if a drug can be detected, its levels observed in an individual's blood may not accurately depict how impaired that person is. Police often rely of field sobriety tests to determine whether an individual's ability is simply impaired or if they would define the individual as being under the influence of a drug. This distinction is often difficult to make but helps police to reserve the most severe punishments for the most serious offenders.