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Alcohol Related Laws Adopted in the Northeast
Law Definition of law Northeast States with this law Point .08 Per Se Makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle at or above .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) All states in the Northeast Administrative License Revocation Provides for prompt administrative license suspension of offenders who fail a BAC test or refuse to take the test Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont Anti-plea Bargaining Prohibits plea bargaining or reducing an alcohol-related offense to a non-alcohol related offense New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Child Endangerment This law creates a separate offense or enhances existing DUI/DWI penalties for an offender who drives under the influence with a minor child in the vehicle Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island Dram Shop Liability Laws Hold alcohol servers responsible for harm that intoxicated or underage patrons cause to other people (or in some cases, themselves) Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont Fake Identification Statute that makes use of a fraudulent ID by an underage person an offense; also provides for a driver's license suspension for attempting to purchase alcohol using a false ID All states in the Northeast Felony DUI Makes DUI/DWI a felony offense based on the number of prior convictions Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont Graduated Drivers Licensing A three-tiered licensing system, under which novice drivers are given full driving privileges gradually, after an extended period of education, supervised driving with nighttime restrictions and citation and alcohol-free driving record All states in the Northeast Happy Hour Laws Refers to reduced price or multiple drink alcohol sales practices and promotions that encourage excessive alcohol consumption. Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island High Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Refers to a driver who drives with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher at the time of arrest Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Hospital BAC Reporting Requires or authorizes hospital personnel to report blood alcohol test results of drivers involved in crashes to local law enforcement where the results are available as a result of treatment Pennsylvania Ignition Interlock System installed on an offender00 vehicle that prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver00 blood alcohol concentration is above a pre-determined threshold Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Keg Registration Requirement for beer kegs and other large beer containers to be tagged with identification tags and records kept of purchaser's name, address and location where the keg is to be used; enables tracking to source, if minors are served Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont Lower BAC for Repeat Offender Pertains to offenders who have had one or more prior DUI/DWI convictions Maine Mandatory Alcohol Assessment/Treatment Alcohol assessment given to repeat offenders to determine their degree of alcohol abuse and/or undergo appropriate treatment Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Mandatory Alcohol Education Law mandating convicted DUI/DWI offenders to complete an alcohol education program before driving privileges can be reinstated All states in the Northeast Mandatory BAC Testing for Drivers who are Killed Statute to test BAC of driver00 killed in vehicle crashes Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York , Pennsylvania Mandatory BAC Testing for Drivers who Survive Statute to test BAC levels of all drivers involved in serious injury crashes who survive Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont Mandatory Jail 2nd Offense Law requiring a mandatory minimum imprisonment for repeat offenders Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Mandatory Server Training Law requiring establishments that serve or sell alcohol to train their employees to detect and not serve patrons who are underaged or already impaired Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island Open Container Law that is TEA-21* Compliant Law prohibiting the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the passenger areas of a motor vehicle Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Penalties for Test Refusal Greater than Test Failure Provide for increased penalties for refusing to take a breath test, more strict than those penalties for an individual who takes and fails a breath test. Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Vermont Plate Sanctions Law allowing license plates of offenders to be impounded and destroyed Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island Preliminary Breath Test Portable breath testing device used to determine BAC of suspected DUI/DWI offenders Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Repeat Offender Law that is TEA-21* Compliant Includes 4 penalties: 1) minimum 1 year license suspension; 2) impoundment or ignition interlock on all vehicles owned by the offender; 3) mandatory alcohol assessment/treatment; 4) mandatory minimum sentence Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Sales of Alcohol to Youth Laws empower a state00 alcohol beverage commission (ABC) to rescind the license of any business that knowingly sells alcohol to an underage individual All states in the Northeast Social Host Liability Statute or case law that imposes potential liability on social hosts who serve alcohol to obviously intoxicated persons or minors who subsequently are involved in crashes causing death or injury to third parties Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont Vehicle Confiscation Allows for confiscation of DWI offenders vehicles Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Vehicle Impound Allows for the seizing, impounding, or immobilizing of vehicles operated by a DUI/DWI offender for a predetermined time Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New York, Vermont Vehicle Sanctions while Suspended Allows for seizure and sale of a vehicle operated by an offender at the time the alcohol-related offense was committed Delaware, Maine, Maryland Vehicular Homicide Statutes which allow a homicide charge to be brought against an individual who kills another person through the operation of a motor vehicle, either intentionally or negligently All states in the Northeast Youth Attempt at Purchase Statute which makes it illegal for a person age 21 years or younger to attempt to purchase alcohol Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Youth Consumption of Alcohol Law making it an offense for individuals under 21 to have any amount of alcohol in their bodies Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Youth Purchase Laws that make it an offense for an individual 21 years or younger to purchase alcohol; provides for significant penalties, including driver's license suspension All states in the Northeast Zero Tolerance Law that makes it illegal for drivers under the age of 21 to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .02 or more All states in the Northeast*TEA-21: In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) Restoration Act, a Federal program was established to encourage States to address the problem of the repeat intoxicated driver.
Information in this FAQ was adapted from content taken from the MADD website at
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