There are two things that affect how serious and what the DWI penalties will be for you. The first is whether or not you have any prior offenses. First offense, second offense and third or subsequent offense all have different penalties. The second factor is your level of intoxication. The legal limit in New Jersey is 0.8% blood alcohol content.
If your level of intoxication is above 0.8% in New Jersey, you will be charged with DWI. Generally, the higher your blood alcohol content, the more serious penalties you will be facing in terms of a license suspension and ignition interlock device. And this makes sense. If someone is close to the legal limit, they’re not going to get as hammered as someone who’s three times the legal limit.
According to Northjersey.com, judges and prosecutors often come down hard on someone who has a much higher reading. In New Jersey, there is a first tier and a second tier offense. The first tier offense is between 0.8% and 0.10%. The penalties you are facing are as follows: a three month driver’s license suspension, a fine and 12 to 48 hours in the Intoxicated Drivers Resource Center. However, if your blood alcohol content was above 0.10%, your license suspension jumps from three months to seven months.
Finally, if your blood alcohol content was above 10.15%, there’s a new law in New Jersey that was recently passed, which requires an ignition interlock device and a blowing device be installed on your vehicle even when you get your license back. The higher tiers obviously include the fines and large jumps and insurance premiums, but they also have higher license suspension and, potentially, the ignition interlock device. That’s the blowing device on your car, which is obviously embarrassing and expensive.
This information is not legal advice.
