When you drive a motor vehicle after having drunk alcohol or taken drugs, you are said to be DUI, or Driving Under the Influence. It is illegal to be driving if you have a certain level of alcohol in your bloodstream as it is dangerous for everyone on the road, yourself included.

California has laws against DUI. You cannot drive if you are under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. This law also extends to piloting planes or boats as well. You can get DUI for being drunk and piloting your boat down a waterway. It's important to have such laws. Imagine how many lives would be at risk if there was an intoxicated pilot!

Being under the influence makes you unable to safely drive your vehicle. At as low a blood alcohol content (BAC) as 0.02%, you already have impairment in your ability to do two things at the same time (like steer and brake). When we increase the BAC to 0.08%, a driver will be unable to safely manage their vehicle and will pose a major danger if they attempt to drive.

That is why California instituted a law in 1990 that makes it illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or more. If you are in California, and you are found to have driven with a BAC of this much or more, you will be arrested and charged with DUI.

California is not the only state to establish this rule. Additionally, in these states the law enforcement personnel are specially trained to be able to spot and assess drivers who may be impaired.

Officers manage this by conducting what are called field sobriety tests (FST). These tests can measure a person's agility and reflexes, and thus estimate their ability to drive safely. You can't tell what a BAC is by FST, however.

To accurately test BAC, you need to conduct a chemical test. The most accurate way is via blood or urine sample, although measuring alcohol in the breath will also work. The breath measurement tool is the most widely known, and is called the Breathalyzer.

Criminalizing DUI has saved many lives. Since the 0.08% BAC law, DUI fatalities have dropped considerably.

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