Georgia DUI Laws

The Law Office of Head & Karettis

If you’ve been arrested for a DUI in Georgia, you don’t need a lawyer – you need an experienced DUI lawyer. Since Georgia’s DUI laws are getting more complex each year, you need a defense attorney who specializes in this field. To understand in plain English some of Georgia’s important DUI and alcohol laws, please read below.

The main DUI statue is found in O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-391. With a DUI charge, you will be violating subsections (a) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. What your lawyer will know is that subsections (a) 1-4 are “less safe” violations and (a) 5-6 are known as “per se” or “unlawful level” violations.

If you are charged as a less safe driver, the prosecution must prove that you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol to an extent that makes you unsafe to drive. The “per se” violation is if your blood alcohol content (BAC) was over .08% - not that you were necessarily intoxicated.

While Georgia’s limit of .08% BAC received a lot of attention, this is not the magic number for a DUI. Georgia law states that if your BAC is .05% or less, the prosecution may still try to prove that you were a less safe driver. If your BAC was tested between .05% and .08%, there is no inference one way or the other that you are a less safe driver.

Per Se Blood Alcohol Levels

If you violate this DUI statue, that means you either have a BAC of .08% or more or you have a prohibited substance in your system such as a drug like cocaine.

Zero Tolerance

Like the other states, Georgia has also enacted a zero tolerance law, which prohibits anyone under the legal age of 21 from having any alcohol in their system while driving. If you’re under 21 and you have a blood alcohol content reading of 0.02%, this is a violation of the “per se” law.

Commercial Vehicles

For commercial drivers, you are violating the “per se” law if your blood alcohol content is .04%.