Colorado DUI Laws & Penalties DWAI
You need to Find a Colorado DUI lawyer as soon as possible to protect your legal rights if you are arrested for a DUI or DWI. Colorado and many local jurisdiction are now more aggressive on DUI and traffic enforcement as a way to supplement their budgets. Best Aspen DUI Attorney? Best Denver DUI Attorney?
Colorado DUI law defines DWAI has a blood alcohol level higher than .05 but less than .08 which is where they would be looking to charge you with a DUI in Colorado. If you are under 1% you stand a much better chance of getting the charge reduced to a lesser, as the margin of error can work in your favor with a aggressive DUI Defense. Many times the District Attorney will opt to allow you to plea to a lesser charge rather than get into a court battle that he might lose.
Colorado Law gives the police the right to ask you to submit to a blood breath saliva or urine test when requested to do so if the officer has probable cause. Recently in Aspen Co there was a successfully DUI defense that was based on the fact that the particular officer had many more DUI arrests than was normal and the Colorado Lawyers DUI defense was that the officer was using any pretext to pull people over during high probability of DUI periods notably around bar closing,
A Publication of the Office of Legislative Legal Services1
Colorado law prohibits a person from driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
or drugs or while the person's ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drugs.2 These
offenses are often abbreviated as "DUI" and "DWAI", respectively.
Blood or breath tests play a prominent role in the enforcement of drunk driving laws,
although DUI or DWAI can be proved by other means. A person is presumed to be DWAI
if a blood or breath test shows a blood alcohol level of more than 0.05 but less than 0.08.3 A person is presumed to be DUI if a blood or breath test shows a blood alcohol level of at
least 0.08. A person may be classified as a persistent drunk driver and subject to greater
penalties if the test shows a blood alcohol level of at least 0.17.
Under the principle of expressed consent, the law presumes that every driver has consented
to take a blood, breath, saliva, or urine test when requested to do so by a law enforcement
officer who has probable cause to believe that the person is DUI or DWAI4. Refusal to take the test is both admissible in court and a basis for revocation of a driver's license.
There are both criminal penalties (fines, imprisonment, and required public service) and
administrative penalties for drunk driving. Courts impose criminal penalties, and the
Colorado Department of Revenue (the Department) imposes the administrative penalties.
Administrative penalties include the suspension or revocation of a license due to the
commission of certain offenses or the accumulation of sufficient points assessed for
violations.
Sometimes a driver may reduce his or her criminal penalties through a plea bargain in court
or by undergoing alcohol or drug treatment, but he or she must still face administrative
penalties assessed by the Department. In most cases, the Department does not have the
authority to reduce or bargain away these penalties. The following tables summarize the
1 This summary contains information commonly requested from the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS). It does not represent an official legal position of the General Assembly or the State of Colorado and does not bind the members of the General Assembly. It is intended to provide a general overview of Colorado law as of the date of its preparation. Any person needing legal advice should consult his or her own lawyer and should not rely on the information in this memorandum.
2 "Driving under the influence" means driving a vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs, that affects the person to a degree that he or she is substantially incapable, mentally or physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle. Section 42-4-1301(1) (f), Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.). "Driving while ability impaired" is similar, except that the person is affected to the slightest degree so that the person is less able than he or she
ordinarily would have been to exercise clear judgment, etc. Section 42-4-1301(1) (f), C.R.S.
3Blood alcohol level is expressed in grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210
liters of breath.
4Section 42-4-1301.1, C.R.S.
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Page 1 of 3
administrative and criminal penalties for DUI and DWAI as they 5 appear in sections
42-2-125, 42-2-126, 42-2-127, and 42-4-1307, Colorado Revised Statutes:
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES
Violation License Suspension Points
BAC test of at least 0.08 9 months
2nd BAC test of at least 0.08 1 year
3rd or subsequent BAC test of at least 0.08 2 years
DWAI None 8 points
1st DUI 9 months 12 points
2nd DUI or DWAI 12 months DWAI 8 points
DUI 12 points
3rd DUI or DWAI 24 months DWAI 8 points
DUI 12 points
1st Under 21 drinking and driving (BAC of at
least 0.02 but less than 0.05)
3 months - 1st offense
6 months - 2nd offense
1 year - 3rd or subsequent
offense
4 points
CRIMINAL PENALTIES
Offense Jail Fine Public Service
1st DWAI 2 days -
180 days
$200-$500 24 hrs -
48 hrs
1st DUI 5 days -
1 year
$600-$1000 48 hrs -
96 hrs
DWAI or DUI with one previous
DWAI or DUI
10 days -
1 year
$600-$1500 48 hrs -
120 hrs
DWAI or DUI with two or more
previous DWAI or DUI
60 days -
1 year
$600-$1500 48 hrs -
120 hrs
5Administrative penalties for the same incident are not consecutive. For example, if a person whose license was
suspended for a BAC test of at least 0.08 is subsequently convicted of DUI arising out of the same incident, the person's
license is only suspended once.
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Page 2 of 3
CRIMINAL PENALTIES
Offense Jail Fine Public Service
1st Under 21 drinking and driving
(BAC or at least 0.02 but less than
0.05)
None $100 Up to 24 hrs
In some cases, a portion of the minimum mandatory jail sentence can be suspended if the
person agrees to undergo an alcohol treatment program.
In addition, persons who violate the state's drunk driving laws may have to pay court costs,
penalty surcharges of up to $500 to help pay for programs to address persistent drunk drivers,
surcharges to benefit the crime victim compensation fund, fees to reinstate a driver's license
after suspension or revocation, and other fees, charges, and penalties.
Still other consequences may follow. If alcohol or drugs are involved in an accident causing
injury or death, the penalties for vehicular assault or vehicular homicide are more stringent.
Persons convicted of a third DUI or DWAI offense within 7 years also face a mandatory
5-year license revocation under the "habitual traffic offender" statute, section 42-2-202,
Colorado Revised Statutes.
This summary does not include all the details contained in state law and regulations. For
more information, contact your local Driver License Office or visit a public library and ask
for title 42 of the Colorado Revised Statutes to review sections 42-2-125 to 42-2-208
(administrative point system and revocation procedures) and 42-4-1307 (penalties for traffic
offenses involving alcohol and drugs).
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