07 December

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Driving and Drugs: Ohio’s Per Se Marijuana Law

Wondering if you can get charged with an OVI from Marijuana? While it is well established that alcohol consumption increases accident risk, evidence of marijuana's culpability in on-road driving accidents and injury is far less clear. Although acute cannabis intoxication following inhalation has been shown to mildly impair psychomotor skills, this impairment is seldom severe or long lasting. According to the US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. State of Knowledge of Drugged Driving: FINAL REPORT. op. cit., "Experimental research on the effects of cannabis ...

07 December

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Ohio OVI: Standardized Field Sobriety Tests & Marijuana

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol

State v. Dixon, 2007-Ohio-5189 (Ohio Ct. App. 12th Dist. Clermont County 2007).More and more, we are seeing law enforcement officers arrest drivers on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of marijuana. Often, an officer will request a urine test for marijuana after a defendant has blown substantially under the per se alcohol limit on a breath test machine. This raises questions about the proper determination of probable cause. If, for example, no alcohol was suspected how did the officer arrive deduce enough evidence to make an arrest? Were the standardized field sobriety tests administered to detect alcohol or...

28 November

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MADD’s Historic Push For A .05% Alcohol Limit (by Dayton DUI)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

In 1938 the American Medical Association created a "Committee to Study Problems of Motor Vehicle Accidents." Around that same time the National Safety Council began the "Committee on Tests for Intoxication." Their original research found that a driver with a .15% Blood Alcohol Concentration (B.A.C.) could be presumed to be "under the influence." Ohio law followed this paradigm making it illegal to drive with a B.A.C. over .15%. This standard existed for over 20 years.Law and politics changed forever with the founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the late 1970's. MADD changed the world for the better. No longer...

11 October

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Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: The One Leg Stand Test

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) are a battery of three tests administered and evaluated in a standardized manner to obtain validated indicators of impairment and establish probable cause for arrest. These tests were developed as a result of research sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and conducted by the Southern California Research Institute. A formal program of training was developed and is available through NHTSA to help law enforcement officers become more skillful at detecting DWI suspects, describing the behavior of these suspects, and presenting effective testimony in court. Formal administration and accreditation of the program is provided through the...

02 October

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Ohio Revised Code 4511.194, Physical Control

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

Ohio Revised Code section 4511.194 defines the crime of “Physical Control.” The crime of "Physical Control" involves being in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse. This definition means that you do not have to be driving or operating the car. If a person is in the driver’s position of the front seat of a vehicle, or in the driver’s position of a streetcar, or trackless trolley and having possession of the vehicle’s, streetcar’s or trackless trolley’s key, or other ignition device that person is in “physical control” of the vehicle. See...

27 September

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Low BAC And Fatal Crashes (by DaytonDUI)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

According to research complied by David J. Hanson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology of the State University of New York at Potsdam, most drivers who have had something to drink have low blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) and few are involved in fatal crashes. On the other hand, while only a few drivers have BACs higher than .15, a much higher proportion of those drivers have fatal crashes.The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is .16 1 The relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC driver and for...

25 September

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Are the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Fair to Fatter People?

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

Being overweight can impact your performance on the standardized field sobriety tests. The government agency tasked with verifying the validity of the standardized field sobriety tests is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (hereinafter NHTSA). NHTSA concedes that being fifty or more pounds overweight affects performance on the one-leg stand test; a test requiring the suspect to raise a foot off the ground and stand on one foot for 30 seconds. See NHTSA, DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, Participant's Manual (2006), re: WAT at VIII-11, re: OLS at VIII-13. Id. re: 50 lbs at VIII-13. In older versions...

10 September

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Illegal Police Stops (by DaytonDUI)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

Protecting You From Illegal Police Stops! The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects you against unreasonable searches and seizures, which includes being unlawfully or illegally pulled over or stopped by law enforcement. An officer cannot simply pull you over based on a hunch or intuition. When a police officer observes a traffic violation, he or she is justified in initiating a limited stop for the purpose of issuing a citation. State v. Brickman(2001), 11th Dist. No. 2000-P-oo58, 2001 Ohio App. LEXIS 2575. The legal standard applied to traffic stops is reasonable and articulable suspicion, which means that the officer has reason to...

24 July

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DUI Science: Are Gastric Bypass Patients More Susceptible to a DUI?

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol

According to the results of a new study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the dramatic changes that occur as a result of gastric bypass surgery can cause some people to overindulge when using alcohol thereby increasing their risk for a DUI. As cited at by Science Daily (linked HERE): Studies have shown that gastric bypass patients often find it difficult adjusting to physical and psychological changes after the procedure. An increased risk of depression, alcoholism, and other substance abuse issues for this patient population led researchers to take a more in-depth look at how...

17 July

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DUI Blood Tests: Whole Blood vs. Serum/Plasma

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Ohio Administrative Code 3701-53-03(A) sets forth the techniques and methods for determining the concentration of alcohol in blood, urine and other bodily substances. Pursuant to that rule, Ohio allows for testing including gas chromatography and enzyme assays. To challenge a blood test, it is important to know if the State has tested the blood as whole blood or as serum/plasma. Operation with a concentration of alcohol is prohibited if the concentration in whole blood is equal to or exceeds .08%, R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(b). However, the prohibited concentration for whole blood is a concentration equal to or exceeding .096%, R.C.4511.19(A)(1)(c). The high...

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