Driving under the influence of alcohol is a criminal offence in NSW. In order to keep the road safer for other drivers and pedestrians, the governing authorities have held some strict laws against drinking and driving offences. If you want to keep off the threats of legal conflicts and penalties, you must have the knowledge of these laws and keep the contact of a reliable drink driving lawyer ready with you always. This write-up will solely discuss about the pertaining laws, and penalties against the offence, and mention how a defence lawyer can come to your rescue.
The Maximum BAC Limits in NSW
BAC refers to blood alcohol concentration. This measures the alcohol limit in your bloodstream. The NSW government has fixed three BAC limits for licensed drivers. These limits rely on your license type and the vehicle you drive while drinking. Those three BAC limits include:
Zero BAC
The drivers who are at their learning or provisional phase should maintain a zero BAC limit to mitigate the risks of drinking and driving offences and penalties. The limit also applies to interstate or overseas drivers who possess an equivalent license.
Under 0.02 BAC
Licensed drivers who drive fully loaded vehicles that weigh more than 13.9 tonnes. Drivers who transport hazardous items or goods on their vehicles or drive public vehicles like buses and taxis must also maintain a BAC limit of under 0.02 BAC.
Under 0.05 BAC
Mostly, under 0.05 BAC is the legal limit for most of the licensed and experienced drivers in NSW. Only the drivers who are subjected to maintaining 0.00 and under 0.02 limits are excluded from this BAC limit.
If you are caught having a higher BAC limit apart from the above-listed ones, you might have to face the legal consequences of paying hefty spot fines, license cancellation and more. But, there is nothing to fret over as appointing a drink drive lawyer could help you in minimizing the penalties and suspension period.
Penalties for Drinking Offences
The penalties for drinking and driving cases rely on the BAC limit. We have mentioned the possible fines below so that you can have a rough idea about it. For in-depth information, you should consult a professional drink driving lawyer and learn details about the penalties and loopholes to escape.
Penalties for Low-BAC Driving Offences
If you have a clean background with no past records of drink and drive offences, you might be required to pay a spot fine of around $2,200. Alongside, the NSW police department could also suspend your driving license for around 3-6 months.
The drivers who already have previous DUI records must represent themselves in court. Alongside, they might have to pay a spot fine of $3,300 and undergo a driving suspension of 1-3 months. To play safe and avoid further complications, always prefer to seek help from a drug driving lawyer instead of handling the matter on your own.
Penalties for Mid-BAC Driving Offences
If you get the allegations of mid-range alcohol drinking and driving offence, the maximum spot fine could revolve around $2,200 to $3,300. Also, you might receive a suspension order of a maximum of 6 months and an imprisonment sentence of 9 to 12 months. Alongside this, the court could also ask you to follow 12 to 24 months of alcohol interlock program.
Penalties for High-BAC Driving Offences
First-time offenders caught under the influence of high BAC would have to pay a fine of up to $3,300 with an 18-month imprisonment, license disqualification, and alcohol interlocking. The spot fine of the repeat offenders for the same offence is $5,500 with 2 years of imprisonment, license suspension and an alcohol interlocking order.
Both the mid and high-range alcohol drinking and driving offences have some serious penalties. Before the matter is dragged into the local court, hire traffic lawyers to sort out the matter hassle-freely.
Is it Possible to Calculate the BAC limit on Your Own?
Calculating the BAC limit is tough, as the same quantity of alcohol has different influence levels in different individuals. The blood alcohol concentration level starts to surge immediately once you start drinking and can increase for the next two hours even if you have stopped drinking. Not to mention, estimating the BAC levels from specific hard drinks can often be inaccurate due to the serving size and physical condition of the consumer.
Wrapping Up
The NSW government applies strict actions against individuals who commit drinking and driving offences. If ever, you have to deal with a situation where you have to make a mandatory court presence, never lose hope and let an industry-leading drug offence lawyer handle it on your behalf.
Traffic lawyers are well aware of the different DUI laws and have a clear understanding of the legal system. They can help you to get back your license and withdraw the charges as much as possible.