Nevada Hopes New Law Will Pump The Brakes On DUI Drivers

Nevada isn't the most dangerous state in the country to drive in, but its traffic deaths per 100 million miles driven are still higher than the national average. A new bill recently signed into Nevada state law aims to improve the state's road safety, with new penalties mandated for drivers caught behind the wheel while they're under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The revised legislation states that any driver who is found to be under the influence and causes the death of another person while they're on the road will face a minimum prison sentence of two years and a maximum of 25 years, as well as a fine of $2,000 to $5,000, if it's their first offence. If they have already been convicted of one or two other offences, the minimum prison sentence is now five years, while the maximum sentence and fine remain the same. In both cases, the offence is considered a category B felony.

The revised law also states that a driver who is under the influence and causes substantial bodily harm to another person should receive a prison term of between two and 20 years, as well as a $2,000 to $5,000 fine. In Nevada, a driver is considered to be under the influence if they have an alcohol concentration of 0.08% in their blood or breath, or have a certain level of drugs in their blood or urine. The exact level varies between drugs — for cocaine, 150 nanograms per milliliter of urine or 50 nanograms per milliliter of blood is the limit.

While Nevada has opted to increase penalties for DUI offences to try and reduce road accidents and fatalities, other states have attempted to tackle the problem in different ways. Utah dropped its state DUI limit to 0.05% in 2018, down from 0.08%. The effects of the change remain unclear, although SlashGear's analysis found that some studies in the state suggested that a lower limit could help decrease fatality rates, while data from other studies suggested that the change had only a minimal impact.

Other states have ramped up their use of testing checkpoints to try and catch DUI drivers, although in some cases, these DUI checkpoints end up catching driverless taxis committing offences instead. Although various initiatives exist across the country, it's still important that other drivers report any suspected DUI drivers if they see them on the road.

The Nevada DOT says that signs a driver might be under the influence include swerving across the road, delayed starts, driving too slowly, turning abruptly, and driving with their headlights off at night. If you spot a suspected drunk or impaired driver, the department advises not to follow or attempt to stop their car, but instead to note down their license plate number and a description of their vehicle before calling the authorities.