DWAI

White Plains Lawyers for DWAI Charges

After getting charged with a drunk driving offense, you may feel stress and uncertainty about how to proceed. If you are charged with operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.05 – 0.07, you can be charged with “Driving While Ability Impaired.” (DWAI). There is a presumption you were driving with ability impaired if your BAC is .07 – .08. If you are charged with a DWAI, or any other drinking and driving offense, you should retain an aggressive and experienced White Plains DWI attorney to defend your rights. At the Law Office of Mark A. Siesel, we have more than 35 years of experience and can guide you through your legal options.

Driving While Ability Impaired

Unlike a DWI or Aggravated DWI, a first DWAI is a traffic infraction, not a misdemeanor or felony. Even so, this type of infraction carries serious consequences and can create complications. It could affect your driving privileges and job prospects. It will increase your insurance premium rates. You should be aware that a first conviction for a drug DWAI or a combination DWAI is treated differently; these are misdemeanors.

You can be charged with a DWAI if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) has reached .05–07; in other words, you’ll be considered legally impaired even with less than the .08 BAC for which you could face DWI charges. An adverse outcome could result in a $500 fine, $260 surcharge, a mandatory 90-day license suspension, and up to 15 days in jail. If you participate in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, you may be able to apply for a conditional license while your license is suspended.

Any driver may be charged with DWAI if they drive under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, whether legal, illegal, or prescribed. You can also face a DWAI charge if you’re caught under the combined influence of both drugs and alcohol.

Crucially, if you plead guilty or you are convicted of a DWAI, you will no longer be eligible to get this reduced charge again. Therefore, it’s important to retain a knowledgeable White Plains lawyer to help you reach a resolution of your drunk driving case.

DWAI for Commercial Truck Drivers

DWAI charges are especially serious when they’re brought against commercial drivers of trucks and livery vehicles. As a truck driver, you’ll be unable to make a living if you lose your driver’s license or privileges. Moreover, you can be charged with DWAI with a lower blood alcohol concentration than a non-commercial driver would be. Accordingly, it is essential that your lawyer is fully familiar with all aspects of DWAI charges and how to defend them, or how to appropriate negotiate a plea for DWI charges that involves pleading guilty to DWAI.

Investigating Your Drunk Driving Case, Protecting Your Rights

Our DWAI lawyers in White Plains will examine all aspects of your arrest. Among other things, we’ll look at whether the arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing that caused him to make the traffic stop that led to your DWAI charges. The officer is supposed to respect your constitutional rights and perform all chemical tests using proper procedures.

Field sobriety tests may be performed. Additionally, if you are arrested, you’ll be asked to take a chemical tests, which could include a Breathalyzer, blood test, or urine tests. It’s important to seek legal counsel to examine all steps of the testing. In some cases, medical conditions such as vertigo or concussion affect test outcomes. Often an investigating officer never asks the driver if they are suffering from any of these medical conditions, and this can result in unfair arrests.

Call a Seasoned White Plains DWAI Lawyer

If you or a loved one is charged with any offense involving drunk driving, including DWAI, the stakes are very high. You should seek legal representation and counsel from experienced White Plains DWAI attorney Mark A. Siesel may be able to represent you. He has more than 35 years of experience representing clients in Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Dutchess, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties, along with Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. Please give us a call at (914) 428-7386 or complete our online form for dedicated legal representation.