Reader’s Question:

What is the cost of punishment for an Alaska DWI?

Candice

Anchorage, AK

For a primary Alaska DWI offense, the cash penalty ranges from three hundred dollars to one thousand dollars with additional court costs and other fees. The jail time can be ten days to six months or all may be suspended. You will also be given thirty two community service hours. A substance exploitation assessment and driver enhancement school is necessary. In the occasion that your Blood Alcohol Concentration is over 0.15, you will receive a bare minimum of forty eight hours in jail and a license suspension of ninety days. For a Second Alaska DWI Offense, the cash penalty ranges from seven hundred fifty dollars to one thousand dollars with additional court costs and other fees. The jail time can be thirty days to six months; everything else except for forty eight hours may be suspended. Your community service time will be two hundred forty hours and you will be obligatory to be present at a substance abuse appraisal and driver upgrading school. In the event that your Blood Alcohol Content is over 0.15, the least compulsory jail time is ninety six hours, and your Driver’s License will be suspended for one year.
I hope the listing of punishment given above has helped you in some way.

Reader’s Question:

I was recently charged with DUI here in Alaska. I am unsure whether or not I will get a lawyer because I was told that I can just represent my own case. But I am just curious, how will retaining a lawyer assist me?

Kim

Anchorage, AK

The issue of drunk driving in Alaska is a very extensive matter and can be difficult to follow. The sentences are becoming increasingly severe and dealing with a case include an array of administrative license, evidentiary, sentencing, constitutional, and procedural affairs.

A general practitioner will do nothing or possibly even hurt your case because they are, more often than not, unqualified for such a particular field. The best Alaska DUI lawyer, on the other hand, can do many things to help improve your situation. A DUI lawyer could acquire measurements and maintenance records of the breath machine and have blood samples reanalyzed. They can also review the case for possible flaws, control evidence, debate reduced penalties and sentences, obtain expert witnesses for the case, contest the administrative license suspension, etc. In the end, getting an experienced Alaska DUI lawyer can be very beneficial to your case.

Reader’s Question:

What is the reliability of the breath test in Alaska?

George

Anchorage, AK

There is much debate on the breathalyzer in Alaska. Believers say that the breathalyzer will only read light absorbed by alcohol, while opponents state the machine often misreads other normally found substances in the breath as alcohol, thus giving an inaccurate high reading.

Neither the Department of Public Safety of Bryan nor the manufacturer of the machine will let anyone else other than the law enforcement to test the machine for its accuracy and reliability. It is normally understood that for a procedure to be accepted as accurate and reliable in science, it must be open and available for the scientists to test and retest the procedure. This is not permitted with this machine.

The maker of the machine does not give any warranty of the breathalyzer. It also does not give any warranty for the accuracy and reliability of breath testing. The breathalyzer is able to preserve breath samples, but the department of public safety does not preserve these samples. The cost of preserving breath samples is cheap and would allow arrested persons the opportunity to have their breath samples checked for accuracy. If found to be inaccurate, this could prevent an innocent person from being unfairly convicted. Additional re-testing of the breath sample could be done by a method known as gas chromatography. This method is more accurate and reliable method of testing breath samples for alcohol than the breathalyzer.

Reader’s Question:

My son is so distraught at the idea that he has to attend a traffic school again after he was caught for drunk driving here in Alaska. He kept on telling me that he wasn’t serious about attending traffic school the first time when he obtained his driver’s license so why would he have to attend a traffic school again. How important is this traffic school?

Benedict

Anchorage, AK

Attending a traffic school is a very important aspect to a driver’s education. Most of the time, traffic school is used as a part of a punishment for breaking traffic laws or engaging in a traffic law violation. These classes provide an important message overall. These traffic school courses would help us remind about the laws of the road and the potential consequences of what can happen when these laws are broken.

In Alaska, in order to obtain a driver’s license, drivers are required to read the state’s traffic education book, pass both a written and practical driving test, and take a class on driver’s safety. Some may think that they are driving experts once they obtain their license but they could not be further from the truth. Many of us forget important safety laws and end up required to take a class or two at the local traffic school.
Most of the time, people end up in traffic school after they have had an accident or received a traffic violation. These can potentially risk the safety and lives of others. Traffic school is an excellent way for a traffic violator to be reminded of what his or her actions could do. The state of Alaska offers traffic school as a way to avoid getting points added to your driving record and will keep your insurance premiums down. These traffic schools help re-educate offenders so that the same mistakes will not be repeated again.

Hope your son will be enlightened on the importance of attending a traffic school.