Jersey Shore Personal Injury and Employment Specialists

New drunk driving law changes in New Jersey

On Behalf of | Dec 13, 2019 | Firm News |

The state of New Jersey made a revision to its drunken driving laws by implementing new rules to safeguard the roads and reducing the number of drunk people behind the wheel. The laws that took effect on December 1st, 2019, eliminate the suspension of licenses to first-time offenders. However, any motorist that gets a DWI conviction will have to install an ignition interlock in their car. The ignition interlock comes with an in-car breathalyzer that will prevent a car from starting if the breath of the driver has an alcohol level that is high. 

According to the new laws, any first time offender that receives a conviction of blood alcohol level which is under 0.15 percent will be required to get an interlock device for not less than three months with the ability to extend to a year. The car will only start when the driver blows into the breathalyzer.  The car will not start if they have a breath with a blood alcohol content that reads 0.05 percent. 

The new laws are not lenient on any first time offenders with a BAC above 0.15 percent. Just like the previous laws, their license will be put on hold for about four months with the ability to extend to six months. Additionally, they will have to get an interlock device and install it for an extra 15 months. 

If a driver receives an additional charge, their license will be suspended for two years, and will have to install an interlock device for not less than two years. Initially, the state of New Jersey gave Ignition locks to drivers that repeated a DWI offence and whose blood alcohol content was way over 0.15 percent. However, with the passing of the new law, every offender of the drunk driving rules will have to get a car ignition where arrested. Car ignition locks are very effective in stopping drunken drivers from accessing the road.