O.C.G.A 40-6-391
Driving Under the Influence.
(a) A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any
moving vehicle while:
(1) Under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less
safe for the person to drive;
(2) Under the influence of any drug to the extent that it is less
safe for the person to drive;
(3) Under the intentional influence of any glue, aerosol, or other
toxic vapor to the extent that it is less safe for the person to
drive;
(4) Under the combined influence of any two or more of the
substances specified in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this
subsection to the extent that it is less safe for the person to
drive;
(5) The person's alcohol concentration is 0.08 grams or more at
any time within three hours after such driving or being in actual
physical control from alcohol consumed before such driving or
being in actual physical control ended; or
(6) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code
section, there is any amount of marijuana or a controlled
substance, as defined in Code Section 16-13-21, present in the
person's blood or urine, or both, including the metabolites and
derivatives of each or both without regard to whether or not any
alcohol is present in the person's breath or blood.
(b) The fact that any person charged with violating this Code
section is or has been legally entitled to use a drug shall not
constitute a defense against any charge of violating this Code
section; provided, however, that such person shall not be in
violation of this Code section unless such person is rendered
incapable of driving safely as a result of using a drug other than
alcohol which such person is legally entitled to use.
(c) Every person convicted of violating this Code section shall,
upon a first or second conviction thereof, be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon a third or subsequent conviction thereof, be
guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor and shall be punished as
follows:
(1) First conviction with no conviction of and no plea of nolo
contendere accepted to a charge of violating this Code section
within the previous five years, as measured from the dates of
previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of
nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest
for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is
accepted:
(A) A fine of not less than $300.00 nor more than $1,000.00,
which fine shall not, except as provided in subsection (g) of
this Code section, be subject to suspension, stay, or probation;
(B) A period of imprisonment of not less than ten days nor more
than 12 months, which period of imprisonment may, at the sole
discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated,
except that if the offender's alcohol concentration at the time
of the offense was 0.08 grams or more, the judge may suspend,
stay, or probate all but 24 hours of any term of imprisonment
imposed under this subparagraph;
(C) Not less than 40 hours of community service, except that for
a conviction for violation of subsection (k) of this Code
section where the person's alcohol concentration at the time of
the offense was less than 0.08 grams, the period of community
service shall be not less than 20 hours;
(D) Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Program approved by the Department of Human Resources. The
sponsor of any such program shall provide written notice of such
approval to the person upon enrollment in the program; and
(E) If the defendant is sentenced to a period of imprisonment
for less than 12 months, a period of probation of 12 months less
any days during which the defendant is actually incarcerated;
(2) For the second conviction within a five-year period of time,
as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which
convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were
accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction
is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted:
(A) A fine of not less than $600.00 nor more than $1,000.00,
which fine shall not, except as provided in subsection (g) of
this Code section, be subject to suspension, stay, or probation;
(B) A period of imprisonment of not less than 90 days nor more
than 12 months. The judge shall probate at least a portion of
such term of imprisonment, in accordance with subparagraph (F)
of this paragraph, thereby subjecting the offender to the
provisions of Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 and to such
other terms and conditions as the judge may impose; provided,
however, that the offender shall be required to serve not less
than 72 hours of actual incarceration;
(C) Not less than 30 days of community service;
(D) Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Program approved by the Department of Human Resources. The
sponsor of any such program shall provide written notice of such
approval to the person upon enrollment in the program;
(E) Undergoing a clinical evaluation as defined in Code Section
40-5-1 and, if indicated by such evaluation, completion of a
substance abuse treatment program as defined in Code Section
40-5-1; and
(F) A period of probation of 12 months less any days during
which the defendant is actually incarcerated; or
(3) For the third or subsequent conviction within a five-year
period of time, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for
which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were
accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction
is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted:
(A) A fine of not less than $1,000.00 and not more than
$5,000.00, which fine shall not, except as provided in
subsection (g) of this Code section, be subject to suspension,
stay, or probation;
(B) A mandatory period of imprisonment of not less than 120 days
nor more than 12 months. The judge shall probate at least a
portion of such term of imprisonment, in accordance with
subparagraph (F) of this paragraph, thereby subjecting the
offender to the provisions of Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 42
and to such other terms and conditions as the judge may impose;
provided, however, that the offender shall be required to serve
not less than 15 days of actual incarceration;
(C) Not less than 30 days of community service;
(D) Completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Program approved by the Department of Human Resources. The
sponsor of any such program shall provide written notice of such
approval to the person upon enrollment in the program;
(E) Undergoing a clinical evaluation as defined in Code Section
40-5-1 and, if indicated by such evaluation, completion of a
substance abuse treatment program as defined in Code Section
40-5-1; and
(F) A period of probation of 12 months less any days during
which the defendant is actually incarcerated.
For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this subsection, a plea
of nolo contendere or an adjudication of delinquency based on a
violation of this Code section shall constitute a conviction.
(d)(1) Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any municipal
charter, any municipal court of any municipality shall be
authorized to impose the punishments provided for in this Code
section upon a conviction of violating this Code section or upon
conviction of violating any ordinance adopting the provisions of
this Code section.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this Code section to the
contrary, any court authorized to hear cases involving violations
of this Code section shall be authorized to exercise the power to
probate, suspend, or stay any sentence imposed. Such power shall,
however, be limited to the conditions and limitations imposed by
subsection (c) of this Code section.
(e) The foregoing limitations on punishment also shall apply when a
defendant has been convicted of violating, by a single transaction,
more than one of the four provisions of subsection (a) of this Code
section.
(f) The provisions of Code Section 17-10-3, relating to general
punishment for misdemeanors including traffic offenses, and the
provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42, relating to
probation of first offenders, shall not apply to any person
convicted of violating any provision of this Code section.
(g)(1) If the payment of the fine required under subsection (c) of
this Code section will impose an economic hardship on the
defendant, the judge, at his or her sole discretion, may order the
defendant to pay such fine in installments and such order may be
enforced through a contempt proceeding or a revocation of any
probation otherwise authorized by this Code section.
(2) In the sole discretion of the judge, he or she may suspend up
to one-half of the fine imposed under paragraph (2) or (3) of
subsection (c) of this Code section for a second or subsequent
conviction conditioned upon the defendant's undergoing treatment
in a substance abuse treatment program as defined in Code Section
40-5-1.
(h) For purposes of determining under this chapter prior convictions
of or pleas of nolo contendere to violating this Code section, in
addition to the offense prohibited by this Code section, a
conviction of or plea of nolo contendere to any of the following
offenses shall be deemed to be a violation of this Code section:
(1) Any federal law substantially conforming to or parallel with
the offense covered under this Code section;
(2) Any local ordinance adopted pursuant to Article 14 of this
chapter, which ordinance adopts the provisions of this Code
section; or
(3) Any previously or currently existing law of this or any other
state, which law was or is substantially conforming to or parallel
with this Code section.
(i) A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any
moving commercial motor vehicle while there is 0.04 percent or more
by weight of alcohol in such person's blood, breath, or urine.
Every person convicted of violating this subsection shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and, in addition to any disqualification resulting
under Article 7 of Chapter 5 of this title, the "Uniform Commercial
Driver's License Act," shall be fined as provided in subsection (c)
of this Code section.
(j)(1) The clerk of the court in which a person is convicted a
second or subsequent time under subsection (c) of this Code
section within five years, as measured from the dates of previous
arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo
contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for
which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is
accepted, shall cause to be published a notice of conviction for
each such person convicted. Such notices of conviction shall be
published in the manner of legal notices in the legal organ of the
county in which such person resides or, in the case of
nonresidents, in the legal organ of the county in which the person
was convicted. Such notice of conviction shall be one column wide
by two inches long and shall contain the photograph taken by the
arresting law enforcement agency at the time of arrest, name and
address of the convicted person, and the date, time, place of
arrest, and disposition of the case and shall be published once in
the legal organ of the appropriate county in the second week
following such conviction or as soon thereafter as publication may
be made.
(2) The convicted person for which a notice of conviction is
published pursuant to this subsection shall be assessed $25.00 for
the cost of publication of such notice and such assessment shall
be imposed at the time of conviction in addition to any other fine
imposed pursuant to this Code section.
(3) The clerk of the court, the publisher of any legal organ which
publishes a notice of conviction, and any other person involved in
the publication of an erroneous notice of conviction shall be
immune from civil or criminal liability for such erroneous
publication, provided such publication was made in good faith.
(k)(1) A person under the age of 21 shall not drive or be in
actual physical control of any moving vehicle while the person's
alcohol concentration is 0.02 grams or more at any time within
three hours after such driving or being in physical control from
alcohol consumed before such driving or being in actual physical
control ended.
(2) Every person convicted of violating this subsection shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor for the first and second convictions and
upon a third or subsequent conviction thereof be guilty of a high
and aggravated misdemeanor and shall be punished and fined as
provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, provided that any
term of imprisonment served shall be subject to the provisions of
Code Section 17-10-3.1, and any period of community service
imposed on such person shall be required to be completed within 60
days of the date of sentencing.
(3) No plea of nolo contendere shall be accepted for any person
under the age of 21 charged with a violation of this Code section.
(l) A person who violates this Code section while transporting in a
motor vehicle a child under the age of 14 years is guilty of the
separate offense of endangering a child by driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. The offense of endangering a child
by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs shall not be
merged with the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or
drugs for the purposes of prosecution and sentencing. An offender
who is convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be punished
in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of Code Section
16-12-1, relating to the offense of contributing to the delinquency,
unruliness, or deprivation of a child.