New Mexico non-driving DUI
Reader’s Question:
We were having fun the other night and we had a few drinks. We were at a parking lot of a bar waiting for a sober friend to drive us home. Two patrol officers who were roving saw us and asked my friend if he has been drinking. Apparently, he was on the driver’s seat but the key wasn’t actually in the ignition of the car. He was charged with New Mexico DUI. Can they actually charge someone a DUI without actually driving?
Karyn
Las Cruces, NM
New Mexico DUI law can sometimes be very tricky. It is a matter of the law of the state just exactly what it means to be “operating” a motor vehicle. If the car is not moving, or if the driver falls asleep, would it still count as a DUI if the person behind the wheel was found to have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit? What if it wasn’t his car? Or what if the person was only waiting for someone to pick him up? Or if he was only asked to look over the car for a minute while the driver buys something to eat? You might be surprised to hear the answer to some of these questions.
And the answer, surprising as it can be, is yes. You can be charged with DUI in any of the situations mentioned. A person does not have to be driving the vehicle on a roadway to be arrested and charged with DUI. You can just be sitting in a parking lot outside of a bar waiting for someone to drive you home. In your case, since your friend was behind the wheel, even if he was not driving, and has been drinking and was found to have a blood alcohol level of above the legal limit, he can still be charged with New Mexico DUI. The only exception to this rule is that if you are parked on a private property as opposed to a public property.
New Mexico DUI conviction
Reader’s Question:
My brother has a DUI charge here in New Mexico. We are getting closer and closer to hearing his sentence. It was just a minor offense and the lawyer said that he can avoid being in jail even if he will be convicted. I’m very much concerned about the aftermath of this chapter in his life. If he will be convicted, what will be the effect of his conviction on him?
Paula
Albuquerque, NM
It isn’t always known by most of us that the effects of a DUI conviction will last for years. The punishments actually serve as a hindrance from getting past the offense and moving on with your life for many years to come.
Your brother might be forced to a considerable amount of time off from work to perform his community service. That would be a considerable loss of income if he’s paid by the hour or loss of vacation allotment if he’s paid in salary. The irony of all of this is that with all of this commotion, he’s likely to lose his job while he needs money to pay all of the fines. He will be forced to pay the fees and court fines along with all of his other monthly bills on an even smaller income that he had before the offense. If he loses his job because of his New Mexico DUI offense, he is now facing the challenge of trying to find a new job to secure some income. He would also have to disclose on the job application that he has been convicted of a DUI. This makes finding any new job near impossible.
This could also have an effect on his mental state. It could make him very emotional and unstable. A feeling of being wrongly accused could also add up to his animosity.
We are all in favor of punishments for people that break the rules but the punishment has to fit the crime. If we actually want to fix the problem, it has to be rehabilitative in nature.
New Mexico DUI blood alcohol
Reader’s Question:
I never heard of this TruTouch machine which is being used to test blood alcohol. My daughter was arrested for DUI here in New Mexico and she said that the police officer used this test to her. Will the test result of the TruTouch machine be admissible in court?
Sofia
Santa Fe, NM
Blood alcohol content (BAC) test is perhaps the most important part of any DUI arrest. Evidence from a blood test or breath test can provide evidence that’s difficult to dispute. Currently, blood and breath test devices have several drawbacks which are often highlighted by DUI lawyers in their defense. With the introduction of a new machine from TruTouch Technologies, though, many believe that those problems could be solved.
TruTouch Technologies launched its first DUI-detection product in early 2007. This machine tests blood alcohol by holding a suspect’s arm and shining an infrared light on his/her skin which tests alcohol levels in the bloodstream. The machine produces results about a minute which is significantly less time than a breathalyzer machine which takes about 20 minutes and urine and blood tests which take several days.
Evidently, this product has proved popular among several New Mexico alcohol rehabilitation-related institutions, including probation-related programs, residential treatment centers and minimum security jails with furlough programs.
Evidence from the TruTouch machine is not admissible in DUI court cases because it has not yet been proven accurate and reliable. Some New Mexico police are testing DUI suspects with both conventional methods of alcohol detection and the TruTouch machine as part of the process of gathering data on TruTouch machines’ accuracy.
New Mexico DUI breath test
Reader’s Question:
My brother-in-law was convicted with DUI here in New Mexico and was required to have an ignition interlock device on his car. This is only his first DUI conviction. Does it really help to have this kind of device to prevent him on having another drunk driving incident and does this law also help in reducing DUI offenses?
Frances
Albuquerque, NM
New Mexico was the first state in the US to require installing an ignition interlock device in their vehicles for drivers convicted with DUI, even for the first time. This law was passed back in 2005. This kind of device would actually require the driver to blow into and pass a breathalyzer every time they want to drive. The interlock will stop the vehicle from turning over or starting if any alcohol is detected.
Many people find this law very helpful. In 2006, just a year after enacting this law, New Mexico detailed how the ignition interlock device had helped reduce drunk driving by 12%. Also in 2006, the ignition interlock devices in New Mexico kept about 63,000 people from starting their cars. Because of that, three other states in the country have adopted similar DUI laws requiring first-time offenders to install ignition interlock devices in their cars.