New DUI Laws in America for 2020     

States across America, discusses DUI Lawyer Chula Vista, have been rolling out new rules, regulations, and laws to combat instances of individuals driving while under the influence (DUI), with a handful of states really getting aggressive in 2020 to reverse an unsettling trend that has these kinds of charges climbing higher and higher year after year.

Below we highlight just a couple of major new DUI laws in America for 2020 that Americans are going to want to be aware of, the kinds of changes that shakeup the landscape of how these kinds of charges are going to be penalized moving forward.

Arizona

The state of Arizona already has the strictest DUI laws in the United States but that hasn’t stopped them from adding a couple of extra really strict changes to the books for 2020.

As of January 1, 2020, first time DUI convictions are going to have to face a minimum of 10 days of jail time as well as a minimum financial penalty of $750. Second convictions require a 90 day jail sentence and a minimum fine of $1750, with third offenses automatically triggering felony charges that can come with some very significant penalties indeed.

California

California has the largest problem with individuals driving while under the influence, which is to be expected considering the population of this state and the sheer volume of motorists that are on California roads at anyone particular point in time.

Changes made to DUI laws in California for 2020 are relatively minor, however – though there are some more significant proposed adjustments to California statewide laws dealing with DUI issues that are currently in the pipeline, according to Marin Accident Attorney.

For starters, first time DUI offenders are legally required to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle for no less than six months. Second time offenders are going to have that device installed in their vehicle for 12 months, third time offenders are going to have it for two years, and anyone that has a fourth DUI (and all subsequent DUI charges) will have the device installed for at least three years.

On top of that, the legally acceptable BAC level is expected to drop in the state of California for 2020. State Bill 1713 was proposed in late 2019 to bring the legal BAC level down to 0.05% – a number that would bring it in line with Utah as the lowest legal blood alcohol content level in the US.

Kentucky

In the middle of 2019 Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky signed a number of new proposals into law specifically dealing with DUI charges, laws that go into effect as of July 1, 2020, the laws stiffly increase the penalties if there was an accident related to drinking and driving according  to car accident lawyer Fremont CA.

The first change to Kentucky DUI law is that anyone convicted of a DUI (even just their first time) will be required to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicle or face even stricter penalties moving forward.

On top of that, these ignition interlock devices will not be removed from vehicles until a DUI offender has completed a 120 day program of sober driving, and even then they may not be able to have the interlock removed immediately.