How to Find and Access Colorado Drunk Driving Records

The state of Colorado has DUI laws much like those in the other states. One unique addition to these laws in the state of Colorado is its Driving While Ability Impaired law, or DWAI law. DUI laws in all the states prohibit driving with an alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more in the blood stream. The DWAI law in Colorado prohibits driving with an even lower level of blood alcohol concentration or BAC. The DWAI law declares that driving with a BAC of 0.05 percent or more is illegal and is a punishable offense. The standard DUI law in all the states start from a BAC of 0.08 percent.

Penalties

For the first DUI conviction in Colorado, the offender is punishable with a jail sentence from five days to a year. The amount of fine may range from $600 to $1,000. The offender’s driver’s license is suspended for 9 months, and he or she may have to participate in public service for 48 to 96 hours.  A first DWAI conviction on the other hand, results in a jail sentence for 48 hours to 180 days. The amount of fine ranges from $200 to $500. The driver’s license is not suspended in such cases. The penalties for drunken driving with each subsequent conviction keep on getting harsher. To know the exact penalties for each conviction (second DUI offense, second DWAI offense, third DUI offense, third DWAI offense, DWAI with previous DUI conviction, and DUI with prior DWAI conviction) go to the official website of the state of Colorado by copying http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/olls/PDF/COLORADO%20DRUNK%20DRIVING%20LAWS.pdf.

Laws Governing Penalties

The Colorado House Bill 1166 states that a person’s driver’s license is to be revoked in case alcohol or drugs are found in his or her blood stream and also if a person refuses to take the tests to determine the presence of alcohol in his or her system.

The Colorado House Bill 1194 deals with various steps to be taken in order to reduce the incidence of drunken driving. These include installing the Ignition Interlock Device in the cars of certain offenders. The driver needs to breathe into this device before starting his car. If the device detects a BAC exceeding the legal limit, the vehicle does not start. Other measures adopted to reduce DUI are an increased cost of getting back the driver’s license, an extended suspension period for certain offenders, SR22 requirement etc.

The Colorado DUI laws are not limited to on road vehicles. The Senate Bill 159 lowered the legal BAC limit from 0.10% to 0.08 percent for boats and other vessels.

Driving Records

Any Colorado drunk driving case is reported to the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles maintains driving records for seven years. You may view your own driving records for the purpose of updating them or reinstating your license privileges. You may also want to go through someone else’s records, but because of the privacy Law, you will not be allowed to view another person’s records without a written permission from that individual. On fulfilling the conditions you may order a copy of the driving records for $2.20 a copy. 
For procuring driving records, you need to mail your request at the following addresses:

Regular mailing address:
Department of Revenue,
Division of Motor Vehicles,
Driver Control Section,
Denver, CO 80261-0061

Reinstatement mailing address:
Colorado Department of Revenue,
Driver’s License Reinstatement
P.O. Box 173345
Denver, CO 80217-3345.

For the other specifications regarding driving records maintained in the state of Colorado, visit the following website:

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue-MV/RMV/1186476453217