Drunk driving - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

# Drunk driving

### From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drunk driving (Drink driving in the UK and Australia) is the act of driving a motor vehicle (car, truck, etc.) while under the effects of alcohol. Drunk driving is illegal in most areas of the world. In some places, driving a motorless vehicle such as a bicycle while drunk is also illegal.

Most areas that make laws (jurisdictions) started with DWI (drinking while intoxicated) laws, banning just alcohol. Later, most changed them to DUI (driving under the influence) laws, adding other drugs to those banned while driving. The most common blood alcohol content (BAC) limit in the United States is 0.08% for the legal meaning of drunk. Only three states still use the more lax, original standard of 0.10%. Many jurisdictions add extra penalties (more jail time and/or a longer DUI program) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20%.

### [edit] History of drunk driving laws

The first jurisdiction in the United States to adopt laws against drunk driving was the state of New York in 1910, with California (1911) and others doing the same later. Early laws simply banned driving while drunk, with no mention of what BAC was banned.

In the US, most of the laws were greatly tightened in the early 1980s, largely due to pressure from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and Young Adults Educating Responsible Drinking.

Retrieved from "http://simple.wikipedia.org../../../d/r/u/Drunk_driving.html"

Category: Law

##### Views

- Article
- Talk
- Newest version

##### Search

##### In other languages

- Deutsch
- English
- 한국어
- 日本語
- ‪Norsk (bokmål)‬
- Português
- Suomi
- Svenska