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According to the (NHTSA) National Highway Traffic Safety Association statistics, an average of 12,000 people die every year in DUI-related accidents. An average of 900,000 people are arrested each year for DUI/DWI, and a full 1/3 of those are repeat offenders. While the National average has dropped by half over the past 35 years, there is still an ongoing problem with drinking and driving.

Have you been charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Arizona? You’re going to need an experienced DUI attorney to represent you in court. But what should you know about Arizona DUI laws before you make that call?

Before you get behind the wheel, know that drinking and driving – or driving while under the influence of drugs – is illegal. Period. Even if you’ve “only had a few,” it’s still possible to test above a .08% blood-alcohol concentration and/or to drive impaired. It’s better to be safe than sorry – especially with the extreme legal consequences of driving while under the influence.

Arizona has a multitude of beautiful lakes and rivers suitable for boating and various watersports. However, while most Arizona residents are aware of the risks of drinking and driving a car, truck, or motorcycle, many are not aware of the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Arizona maintains some of the strictest DUI laws in the United States for an offender’s first DUI conviction. Penalties only increase after a person has committed multiple DUI offenses, eventually having the potential to lead to a felony conviction.

Proposition 207 has passed in Arizona with similar propositions passing in New Jersey, Montana, South Dakota, and Mississippi. These five states join the ranks of ten others that have officially legalized recreational marijuana in their states.

Most people know that it's illegal to drink and drive in Arizona, but what many people don't know is that Arizona is a zero tolerance state when it comes to drunk driving. Arizona DUI law actually makes it illegal to drive if you are "impaired to the slightest degree", regardless of your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).

If you’re in Arizona facing your first DUI charge you may be stressing about the consequences. Aside from the financial stress of fines and fees, restrictions on where and when you can drive can affect your commute to work, and leave you more frustrated than ever.

While an arrest alone will not affect a person’s driving record, a driving related conviction on the other hand will be included on the person’s driving record. This inclusion can have a severe impact on the person’s pocket. When a person receives a DUI conviction, that person first faces a large amount of fines and potentially even jail time from the legal system. However, the person’s punishment does not stop there. Insurance companies will also inflict their own punishment onto the person. Once convicted of a DUI, auto-insurance premiums typically go up as may other forms of insurance. This means the person will be paying for the crime long after their court or other legal interactions have ended.

Once a person has been convicted of a criminal offense, one of the first things they think of is how and when can they get this conviction off their record. Having heard of the word “expungement,” they seek to know whether they themselves can have their conviction expunged. Unfortunately, Arizona does not have formal expungement, but has a “set aside” process where the conviction is set aside and the person is released from all penalties and disabilities of the conviction.

Arizona is known to have extremely strict and dynamic DUI laws. At its base, there are four ways an individual can commit DUI found in Arizona Statute § 28-1381. From there, a number of factors can affect the punishment, sentencing, and gravity of the crime.

Arizona officially uses the term “driving under the influence” (DUI) instead of “driving while intoxicated” (DWI). However, some people still use DWI and DUI interchangeably to refer to drunk or drugged driving.