If you are arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI), you may be wondering what the differences are between the two charges. While both deal with impaired driving, the acronyms can mean different things in different states. Let’s break down the differences between a DWI and a DUI in New Jersey, and cover some of the penalties associated with each crime.
What is DWI?
New Jersey law defines driving while intoxicated (DWI) as driving while one’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is at least 0.08%. New Jersey is one of just a few states that have decriminalized drunk driving. Therefore, if you get a DWI conviction, you do not get a criminal record for an indictable offense (felony) or a disorderly persons offense (misdemeanor). In fact, you do not get any criminal record at all. If your only arrests have been for DWI, you can truthfully tell your employers during job interviews that you have no criminal record. Instead of treating it as a crime, New Jersey considers DWI a traffic offense, much like distracted driving or speeding. This is true even if your BAC is well above the legal limit of 0.08%; it is even true for repeat DWI convictions and for DWI in a school zone. The only cases where New Jersey prosecutes DWI cases in criminal court are when a drunk driver causes an accident that leaves at least one person with injuries. New Jersey law classifies DWI with injury as a fourth-degree disorderly persons offense and DWI with serious injury as a third-degree disorderly persons offense.
Since, from a legal perspective, a DWI case is just another traffic infraction, people accused of DWI go to traffic court, which is part of the municipal court, instead of going to criminal court. The process of challenging a DWI is much the same as challenging any other traffic citation. You go before a judge and enter a plea (guilty, not guilty, or no contest); if you plead not guilty, you get to present your defenses and evidence to cast doubt on the claim that you are guilty of drunk driving. As with any other traffic case, you have the right to have a lawyer represent you, but you are not required to do so. In DWI cases, as in other traffic court cases where you could lose your driver’s license and be charged thousands of dollars of fees, hiring a lawyer is the wisest and most cost-effective thing to do.
Traffic court judges have the right to impose jail sentences in DWI cases. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state courts can impose jail sentences of up to 180 days without a jury trial, and that is why it is legal for a traffic court judge to sentence you to a jail term for DWI. For first-offense and second-offense cases, the judge has the option to order you to complete additional classes at the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC) instead of going to jail, but in a third-offense DWI case, the jail term is a mandatory sentence. In a third-offense DWI, the judge has the option either to sentence you to 180 days in jail or 90 days in jail plus 90 days in an inpatient treatment program for alcohol use disorder.
The jail time is not even the worst part about DWI in New Jersey; the financial penalties are nothing short of painful, even if you manage to avoid jail time. In DWI cases, the court imposes a long list of fees, some of them less than $100, some of them in the thousands of dollars, and everything in between. In other words, being convicted of DWI costs a lot more than hiring a lawyer to fight your DWI case.
What is DUI?
Some states use the term ‘driving under the influence’ (DUI) to refer to drunk driving, but in New Jersey, DUI is when you drive under the influence of any substance other than alcohol that impairs your ability to drive. These are some of the substances that might be involved in a DUI case:
- Cannabis, including marijuana or cannabis edibles
- Illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine
- Prescription opioid painkillers (such as Vicodin and Percocet)
- Other prescription drugs that decrease alertness and cause impaired reaction time, such as benzodiazepines (such as Valium and Xanax) or muscle relaxants (such as Soma)
Whether you get a DUI has no relationship to whether it is legal for you to possess the drug. New Jersey has decriminalized possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use, but it is still illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis. Likewise, from the perspective of a traffic court judge, driving after taking Percocet that a doctor prescribed to you for a recent injury is just as bad as driving under the influence of Percocet that you bought from a friend of a friend who bought it on the dark web.
The penalties for DUI are similar to the penalties for alcohol-related DWI, such as driver’s license suspension, IDRC classes, jail time, and an endless parade of fines. The way that DUI for drugs is worse than DWI for alcohol is that it leaves you vulnerable to being investigated for and charged with drug crimes. In many cases, defendants who get DUI traffic court citations also get a criminal charge for drug possession. If this describes your case, then you should have a lawyer represent you both in the criminal case and in the DUI traffic court case.
What Is the Difference Between a DWI and DUI?
DWI stands for “driving while intoxicated” and DUI stands for “driving under the influence.” Both crimes involve operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
There is no distinction between a DWI and a DUI in New Jersey, so the two terms may be used interchangeably. The procedure for both prosecuting and punishing drivers who are driving while intoxicated, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is determined by N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 (driving while intoxicated).
If you are caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher, you could face harsher punishments and fines. This is because your BAC was higher than the legal limit, which means that your ability to drive was significantly impaired.
You can be charged with a DUI even if your BAC is below the legal limit, as long as the police officer believes that you are impaired and not able to drive safely.
Is DWI or DUI More Common in New Jersey?
DWI and DUI are both common traffic offenses in New Jersey, but DWI for alcohol is slightly more common than DUI for drugs. Another reason that DUI cases are slightly more complicated than DWI cases is the question of forensic testing. New Jersey uses the AlcoTest breathalyzer to measure drivers’ BAC, and this result is usually what makes or breaks a DWI case. The forensic tests for drug intoxication, however, are not quite as precise. The situation is especially complicated with cannabis. Urine tests to detect cannabis can only show you whether the subject used cannabis in the past week, and the tests based on a strand of hair can detect cannabis use several months before the test. No one gets an alcohol DWI if they got drunk five days ago and have not consumed alcohol since, but the current cannabis tests would give you analogous results for cannabis.
Underage DUI and DWI
New Jersey has a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. If you are a juvenile, there are specific consequences to your actions and crimes, and you might want to seek out someone experienced in juvenile crimes and defenses.
An underage driver with a BAC of between 0.01% and 0.08% can be arrested and charged under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.14, also known as the Baby DUI statute. The most common penalties and fines are:
- License suspension: >A minor DUI conviction may result in your driver’s license being suspended for 30 to 90 days. The following restrictions apply to drivers with probationary licenses: They must complete a four-hour remedial driving course and their license will be probationary for one year. If the driver has just a learner’s permit, they must finish the four-hour class and risk having their license suspended for another 90 days.
- Treatment: The driver may receive a punishment of up to 48 hours at an “Intoxicated Driver Resource Center.” (IDRC) or another regulated rehabilitation facility, much like a full DUI.
- Community service: Fifteen to 30 days of community service may also be given to the driver convicted of a DUI or DWI
If a minor driver’s BAC is more than 0.08 percent, he or she will not be charged with a Baby DUI. Instead, they will face the totality of the NJ DUI law. That means they could face fines, imprisonment, their vehicle could have an ignition interlock device installed, and more as if they were 18 years old or older
Penalties for DWI vs. DUI
The penalties for a DWI and DUI are the same because the terms can be used interchangeably. In New Jersey, the penalties for a first-time DWI could include:
- A DUI conviction in New Jersey entails an initial fine of up to $400; additional state costs of up to $1,000 each year for three years following conviction (a total of $3,000); over $500 in DMV penalties and fees related to a DUI conviction. The Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund (DDEF), Safe Neighborhood Services Fund (SNSF), and the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund (AERF) are also included in those payments.
- Up to 30 days of jail time.
- Up to 48 hours spent in an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center.
- Your license may be suspended for three months or up to one full year.
Each of these punishments can vary depending on whether there are subsequent convictions. They can also be impacted by the severity of your BAC levels.
One advantage of New Jersey law is that residents have access to a 10-year step-down policy. After 10 years or more from the date of driving while intoxicated, if you go without committing another offense, your conviction can be eliminated.
DWI vs. DUI in New Jersey
If you have any questions about the laws in New Jersey, contact us for a free and confidential consultation with an experienced attorney. If you are caught driving while intoxicated or under the influence in New Jersey, you can face severe penalties.
These penalties may include jail time, a driver’s license suspension, and high fines. In some cases, a DWI or DUI can also lead to a criminal record that will follow you for years, or potentially the rest of your life.
