The laws relating to drunk driving differ from one state to another, and even vary in terminology ("drunk driving", "DUI" or "driving under the influence", "DWI" or "driving while intoxicated", "OWI" (PDF Download) or "operating while intoxicated", "impaired driving", etc.). These differences can involve the legal definitions of the offense ("operating" and "driving", for example, can involve significantly different conduct, as can what constitutes "impaired"), effects on license suspensions and/or restrictions, the nature of court and DMV administrative hearings, nature and severity of DUI penalties, what conduct constitutes a felony DUI, and so on. Although this is changing with the increasing presence of the federal government's "carrot-and-stick" approach to uniformity, primarily through the acitvities of the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA", pronounced "nitsuh"), the differences are still substantial and are likely to remain so for some time.
The following are a few resources for those interested in the drunk driving laws in the United States outside of California, including both federal and state websites.
Florida DUI Programs
A comprehensive, county-by-county listing of services offered by the 26 private and professional non-profit organizations that are required to provide education, psychosocial evaluations, and treatment referral services to DUI offenders to satisfy judicial and driver licensing requirements. Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles.
Driving Under the Influence
Information from Wikipedia. (Lawrence Taylor serves as contributing editor).
Tennessee Department of Safety: DUI Facts
An overview of the legal and financial consequences of a DUI arrest in the State of Tennessee.
Arizona DUI Laws
An overview from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety.
Washington State Courts: DUI Sentencing Grids
Administrative sanctions and requirements for reinstatement of driving privileges and DUI sentencing options available to judges.
NIH Guide - Effectiveness of Strategies for Preventing DUI Recidivism
December 4, 1998. Program Announcement Number PAS-99-023 intended to stimulate research that addresses the problem of recidivism among people convicted of drinking and driving offenses.
Alaska Court System: Felony DUI Therapeutic Court
A pilot program created in an effort to enhance public safety by minimizing repeat DUI offenses, to engage offenders in overcoming alcoholism/addictions, and to return offenders to the community as contributing members.
Federal Aviation Administration: DUI Program
Official information about the FAA's DUI/DWI compliance program.
Flying with a DUI
NBAA Digest, February 1996. By Richard Reinhart, MD.
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration: Impaired Driving
A collection of publications.
Juvenile DUI (PDF Download)
A guide to combating juvenile DUI published by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), with support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Florida DUI Laws
The Department of Transportation's criminal and administrative license suspensions laws for misdemeanor and felony DUI.
DUI Library
An online library of DUI-related resources (field sobriety tests, breath and blood analysis, sentencing, etc.) for judges nationwide, maintained by the National Association of State Judicial Educators.
DUI Arrest
A drunk driving arrest, from A to Z, from the Office of the Secretary of State of Illinois.
Colorado DUI Investigations
The state Department of Transportation's criteria for standardized field sobriety testing and list of approved preliminary breath testing devices, along with DUI statistics for past years.
DUI Gulag
"Virtual Prohibition in the New Millenium" (anti-MADD material)
DUI and DWI Laws
Washburn University School of Law's research resources for DUI and DWI law.
Drunk Driving Information
Indiana University Police Department.
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
Stanford University.
DUI Programs
Merced College.
DUI Among Youth
National Survey on Drug Use and Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
DUI Laws
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
