DWI Defined

North Carolina’s Safe Roads Act of 1983 did away with all of the state’s previous drug- and alcohol-related driving laws and put everything under a single offense―driving while impaired, or DWI.

Your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the most common way NC determines whether you’re legally impaired.

• 21 or Older: 0.08%
• Commercial drivers (CDL): 0.04%
• Younger than 21: Any alcohol concentration
• Prior DWI: 0.04% *

The state also looks at whether your physical or mental fitness is provably impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both.

* If you have a prior DWI conviction and license reinstatement, you can’t drive with a BAC of 0.04% or higher; however, this can depend on your driving record and whether you were charged and convicted after July, 1, 2001.