There are some serious consequences for driving while drunk. While there are laws and practices in place to combat it, some states do a better job than others. And Georgia is one of them, because it has been named one of the strictest states on DUI, according to WalletHub.
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The personal finance website determined its results by analyzing the 50 states and Washington, D.C. using 15 key metrics such as minimum jail time for a first and second conviction, vehicle impound and mandatory alcohol assessment. Those sections were then filtered into two major categories: criminal penalties and prevention rank.
Georgia came in at No. 2, overall, while Arizona took the top spot.
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The Peach State has some of the harshest penalties for jail times and administration license suspension. Offenders must spend 10 days in jail for their first conviction and 90 days in jail for their second one. Offenders also get their license suspended for 360 days, the highest of all the states.
Additionally, Georgia has mandatory prevention programs in place including child endangerment protection, sobriety checkpoints and a “no-refusal” initiative for rapid search warrants for sobriety testing.
On the other hand, DC, which placed No. 50 on the list, had more lenient penalties. There is no minimum sentence for jail time for an offender’s first and second conviction. And offenders only get their license suspended for 90 days, the third lowest of all the states.
Overall in America, repeat offenders spend an average of nearly three weeks longer in jail than first-time offenders. Also, 88 percent of states require offenders to equip their vehicles with ignition interlock devices after a DUI. Mandatory participation in alcohol-abuse assessment and/or treatment is required after a DUI conviction in 37 states.
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Want additional details? Take a look at the map of findings below.
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