Every state and the District of Columbia prohibits driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more though state laws vary regarding whether to establish a violation of the per se impaired driving law an alcohol concentration of .08 or more must exist at the time of driving (see, for example, Ala Code § 32-5A-191; Ark . Code Ann. § 5-65-103; Cal. Veh. Code § 23152(b); Fla. Stat. § 316.193; Iowa Code § 321J.2; Ind. Code § 9-30-6-15; Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-266) or, instead, at the time of testing (see, for example, Ariz. Rev. St. Ann. § 28-1381; D.C. Code § 50-2201.05). Some of the states that base the per se offense on the time of driving presume, subject to rebuttal by the defendant, that a 0.08 result from a chemical test performed within a designated time period after the driving establishes that the person drove with an alcohol concentration of 0.08. Some states have a hybrid system, prohibiting driving with a 0.08 alcohol concentration at the time of driving or within a specified time period after driving (see, for example, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1301; Ga. Code Ann. § 40-6-391). These distinctions in the time of measurement can be significant given that a person’s alcohol concentration, which depends upon the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream and at which it is eliminated from the body, changes over time. Alcohol absorption rates vary depending upon many individual factors including gender, whether a person has had gastric bypass [...]
Faculty Coordinators
