FIRST EFFORTS TO DEFINE THE OFFENSE:
PRESUMPTIONS OF INTOXICATION
For over 30 years, no Nevada law defined, or otherwise provided direction concerning
what constituted, intoxication or being "under the influence." Like their counterparts in
other states, Nevada's peace officers relied upon observation, certain sobriety tests,
and judgment to determine if drivers were intoxicated.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, technology to measure the amount of alcohol
in a person's blood (Blood Alcohol Content or BAC) became readily available. Further,
evidence from the new tests indicated that, at higher BAC levels, drivers were more
likely to be involved in accidents.
In an effort to make the evaluation of DUI more objective and, thus, the enforcement
of DUI laws more effective, states began adopting "presumptive" DUI statutes. That
is, a person was presumed to be intoxicated at a specified BAC, although the
presumption was rebuttable in court. Indiana passed the first such law in 1939.
Appendix A to this paper, a chronicle of selected DUI legislation in Nevada, includes chapter citations of all bills
referenced.
1 Similarly, Nevada, in 1957, enacted Assembly Bill 267, which established statutory
presumptions associated with certain BAC levels. Like the presumptive statutes of
most other states, AB. 267 set what is now generally considered to be a very
conservative standard for presumed intoxication--0.15.
2
A person with a BAC of 0.05 or less was presumed not to be under the influence of
intoxicating liquor; with a BAC of 0.15 or more, a person was presumed to be
intoxicated. A BAC between 0.05 and 0.15 gave rise to no statutory presumption
concerning whether the person was intoxicated, although the BAC might be considered
with other evidence in making that determination.
Further, the bill specified that the presumptions were not to be "construed as limiting
the introduction of any other competent evidence bearing upon the question of whether
or not the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor." Thus, the
presumption that a driver was intoxicated was rebuttable in court.
By 1967, national attention to the dangers of drunk driving had prompted the
Federal Government to include among its standards for highway safety programs a
presumptive BAC level of 0.10. Two years later, the Nevada Legislature considered
a bill to lower the standard (Assembly Bill 266 of the 1969 Session), but the measure
did not pass. Opponents referred to AB. 266 as the "two-drink" bill, arguing that "just
two drinks" could result in a BAC of 0.10.
Thus, it was not until 1971 that the Nevada Legislature lowered the presumptive level
from a BAC of 0.15 to 0.1 O. Accordin~ to testimony during legislative hearings, at that
time 25 states had already done so. The Nevada Safety Council, one advocate of
lowering the standard for presumed intoxication, conducted an experiment to counter
the "two-drink" argument of the previous session. The council's testimony included the
results of that (admittedly non-scientific) experiment, in which it found "it takes a
sufficient number of drinks before an average person's blood-alcohol content registers
0.10."
ILLEGAL PER SE
Nationwide, the presumptive statutes of the 1950s were followed by "per se" statutes
in the 1970s. Although a presumptive law allows a driver with a BAC over the
presumed level of intoxication to rebut the presumption in court, a per se law stipulates
that to drive with a BAC at or above a specified level constitutes an offense in and of
itself Proponents of the new legislation argued that police officers were not inclined
to arrest drivers for DUI if they believed that the presumption of intoxication would be
successfully rebutted. Further, they suggested that per se laws encouraged arrest and
prosecution and, therefore, deterred drinking and driving.
Currently, all 50 states have either presumptive or per se statutes at a BAC no higher than 0.10.
See the Legislative History of A.B. 24, available in the Research library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, for more
information about lowering the presumptive BAC level.
driving while intoxicated
.08 BAC for regular drivers, .04 for commercial licenses, and .02 for minors.
it means when someone has had alcohol or drugs. A toxin is a poison.
An intoxicated person is someone who has drunk too much alcohol, and is drunk. Probably staggering about, unsure of where or what he or she is doing.
It depends upon which level of intoxication. It is solely upon the vendor.
A DWI conviction is given to someone who is operating a motor vehicle while having a blood alcohol level above 0.08 or being intoxicated. Intoxicated refers to being affected by any alcohol or substance that alters judgement and motor skills.
Blood alcohol content. It is used to find out what level of alcohol is in someone's system.
False. It may make someone feel less intoxicated, but it doesn't actually make them less intoxicated, nor does it balance out the effects.
No, a mosquito will not become intoxicated through someone's blood alcohol level after biting a person. In a mosquito the alcohol moves into a separate area, or pocket, and is broken down by enzymes before it could even reach the nervous system.
The term tipsy refers to someone who is intoxicated or drunk. When a person have consumed too much alcohol, they will loose coordination and their personality will change.
cheater
No. Urban myth. Under some circumstances, however, they can be held civilly liable in a lawsuit if they knowingly serve someone who is obviously intoxicated and that person then injures someone.