DUI recidivism is a major problem in the war on drunk driving. The original mission of the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was to prevent repeat offenders and chronic alcohol abusers from committing drunk driving offenses as that was the main crux of the DUI problem our nation faces.

DUI punishments can never be harsh enough to prevent recidivism from occurring on our nations highways. By increasing the penalties its been said that we are not preventing DUI recidivism but more so hammering social drinkers on their first DUI offense.

BAC, Traffic Convictions and Recidivism

Each of the 50 states have laws that vary when it comes to how they process DWI cases. There is a blood alcohol level that is used to determine who is breaking the law and who has drank less than the legal limit before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Most states use a blood alcohol level of .08 but some of them are as low as .05. The blood alcohol for commercial drivers and airline pilots is even lower at only .04.

Any accident involving a vehicle where one of the drivers involved has been driving under the influence is classified as a DWI accident. The statistics show that approximately 1/3 of people in the United States will be involved in a DWI accident at some point either as the driver under the influence, a passenger in the vehicle, or an innocent third party. It is important to realize that a DWI accident doesn’t always mean under the influence of alcohol as it covers illegal drugs as well.

It’s very obvious but it has to said, the safest and best way to deal with being stopped by police on suspicion of drunk driving is to have zero blood alcohol content. In other words, don’t drink at all anytime before driving.

In the real world normal people will sometimes drive after drinking very responsibly and moderately. But if you have had even just one or two drinks it is possible to be charged with DUI. If you are stopped on suspicion of DUI there are some things you can do to minimize your risk of being charged or convicted of this serious crime.