DUI offenses — Colorado Permit Test

DWAI means the driver is impaired to the slightest degree, and DUI means the driver is substantially incapable of safe driving.

Colorado has two offenses, not one, so there is no level of drinking that is safely below the line. The lower charge starts at the slightest degree.

DWAI means the driver is impaired to the slightest degree

Impaired driving convictions are not proven only by blood alcohol concentration but by impaired driving behavior and a totality of circumstance.

A breath reading is one piece of evidence. How you were driving, and how you looked and spoke to the officer, are the rest of it.

Impaired driving convictions are not proven only by the driver’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), but by the impaired driving behavior and a totality of circumstance

Impairment is usually documented by how the driver operated the vehicle, observed impairment during the officer’s contact, and the driver’s performance on Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.

The officer writes down what anyone could see. That record is what a court reads months later, long after the driver has sobered up.

This is usually documented by the driver’s operation of the vehicle and/or observed impairment during the law enforcement officer’s contact with the driver and the driver’s performance on Standardized Field Sobriety Tests

Colorado law does not allow a driver to plea bargain out of an alcohol or drug related driving offense.

In most cases a charge can be traded down. Not this one, which is the state saying the offense is not negotiable.

Colorado law does not allow you to plea bargain out of an alcohol or drug related driving offense

Penalties for alcohol or drug related driving violations can include jail, fines and suspension of driving privileges.

The three are stacked because one alone is not much of a deterrent. A driver who can pay a fine still loses the license and the liberty.

Because driving under the influence is exceedingly dangerous, penalties for alcohol or drug related violations are very tough and can include jail, fines and suspension of driving privileges

A driver younger than 21 convicted of DUI or DWAI faces revocation of their license on a first conviction if they fail to complete a court-ordered evaluation or program.

The program is the state offering a way back. Skipping it turns a first conviction into the loss of the license anyway.

Any driver younger than 21, convicted of DUI or DWAI, is subject to revocation of their driver license for the first conviction if they fail to complete a court-ordered evaluation or program

For a driver younger than 21, a second or third DUI or DWAI conviction is a mandatory revocation of the license.

After the first conviction the state stops offering choices. Mandatory means no judge can leave the license in place.

A second or third conviction is a mandatory revocation of their license

A driver under 21 convicted of buying or possessing alcohol is subject to revocation of their driving privilege even where driving is not a factor.

Colorado uses the license as the lever it has over people too young to drink. The car does not have to be involved at all.

Anyone younger than 21 is convicted of buying or possessing alcohol is subject to revocation of their driving privilege even if driving is not a factor

What does DWAI mean in Colorado?

The driver is impaired to the slightest degree. Colorado has two offenses, not one, so there is no level of drinking that is safely below the line. The lower charge starts at the slightest degree. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.3: “DWAI means the driver is impaired to the slightest degree”