Personal Injury Accident News:

Maryland’s DUI Law For Impaired Driving Offenses

Maryland’s breath test refusal rate was 29.1 percent for 2001

1) The System

Maryland has a two-tier system for impaired driving offenses: driving under the influence (BAC =.08; called “A” offenses) and driving while impaired (BAC <.08; called “B” offenses).

Maryland allows Probation Before Judgment (PBJ), under which offenders may be given one year of probation with alcohol education; upon successful completion the driver’s record is cleared so there is no record of a prior alcohol offense.

Cases are prosecuted and adjudicated at the county level. Practices vary substantially by county and sometimes by individual judges and prosecutors within a county.

Maryland has administrative per se with license suspension for BAC =.08. Offenders have the right to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ can dismiss the suspension or can modify the suspension to allow driving to work, school, alcohol treatment, or other purposes.

Test refusal results in administrative license suspension for 120 days for first-time offenders and 1 year for repeat offenders, which again can be appealed to an ALJ. Driving to work or other purposes may be allowed under the condition that the driver uses an alcohol interlock. Test refusal suspensions are in addition to any criminal penalties that may be applied.

Penalties increase for repeat offenders (defined as a second or subsequent offense within 5 years) and for drivers transporting a minor. Penalties are not increased for drivers with high BAC levels -- Maryland does not have a high-BAC aggravated DWI law.

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