As many of you know, it is illegal in North Carolina to drive a vehicle while noticeably impaired or with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. When driving a commercial motor vehicle, the limit is 0.04. What you may not know is that repeat DWI offenders can be convicted of a felony, go to jail and even have their cars impounded and sold. The problem is that many people who have problems with drugs and alcohol don’t get help. For every one person who does seek treatment and meet the requirements of his or her sentence, there are three or four who don’t and put themselves and others at the risk of becoming repeat offenders, subject to stricter consequences.

Repeat Offenders Risk:

• License Revocation. After a first conviction, the court could order a mandatory, permanent driver license revocation if at least one of the prior convictions occurred within the past five years. Four or more convictions will result in mandatory permanent driver license revocation. The fourth conviction is considered a felony if the three prior DWI convictions occurred within the past seven years.
• Felony Charges. For habitual DWI offenders, drivers who have had three prior DWI convictions within the past seven years, DWI becomes a more severe felony. But more importantly, the Habitual DWI statute now mandates a minimum active jail term of one year — a sentence that can not be suspended. Offenders must also go through a substance abuse program while in jail or as a condition of parole.
• Vehicle Seizure. The Governor’s DWI Initiative authorizes a law enforcement officer to seize a driver’s car if the officer charges that person with DWI and that person was driving while his or her license was revoked due to a previous impaired driving offense. The seizure happens at the time of the arrest and not after the case has come to trial. If a court convicts the driver of DWI and of committing the offense while driving with a revoked license due to a previous impaired driving offense, the judge will order the vehicle forfeited. The Initiative also allows the school board to sell the vehicle and keep the proceeds, sharing the money with any other school systems in the county, or keep the car for its own use. The law does allow vehicle owners to get their cars back if they were not the driver convicted of DWI but only if they satisfy the court that they are an innocent party.

Stricter BAC Restrictions

The normal legal limits for drinking and driving are stricter after a first DWI conviction. The North Carolina Driver’s Manual outlines the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) restrictions for people who are repeat offenders, explaining:

On the first restoration, the alcohol concentration restriction will be 0.04.

On a second or subsequent restoration, the alcohol concentration restriction will be 0.00. Additionally, if you are convicted of DWI in a commercial motor vehicle, driving after consuming alcohol or drugs while under the age of 21 or felony death by vehicle, the alcohol concentration restriction will be 0.00.

Furthermore, a conviction of driving while impaired with a BAC of 0.15 or more, or another conviction within the past seven years, will require an ignition interlock device to be installed on the vehicle.