dwi DWI D.W.I.: driving while intoxicated

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The words dwi, DWI, D.W.I, driving while intoxicated, are used in United  States DWI Law. The expression "DWI" is not found in the Criminal Code of Canada. Canada has two main substantive DWI criminal offences of impaired operation or care or control and over 80 operation or care or control:

253. Every one commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel or operates or assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment or has the care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment, whether it is in motion or not,

(a) while the person's ability to operate the vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment is impaired by alcohol or a drug; or

(b) having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the concentration in the person's blood exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood.

Impaired operation or care or control in Canada includes operation or care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft while one's ability to operate is impaired by alcohol or a drug to any degree of impairment. This DWI offence is proven by evidence of bad driving and various indicia of impairment observed such as slurred speech, difficulty with standing walking turning, red glassy glossy bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, odor odour of an alcoholic beverage, complexion flushed face, and performance on physical tests.

The DWI offence of excess blood alcohol or over 80 is usually proven by breath tests that determine blood alcohol concentration using and approved instrument such as a Breathalyzer or Intoxilyzer. Blood tests are used in DWI cases where breath tests are not practical.

Both Canadian DWI offences are federal criminal law offences. The Crown in Canada can prosecute a DWI in either of two ways. DWI offences are hybrid offences in Canada. The Crown may prosecute a DWI offence by indictment (roughly similar to a US felony DWI) or they may prosecute a DWI offence by summary conviction (roughly similar to a US misdemeanor). The local Crown Attorney must elect whether to proceed with the D.W.I. by indictment or by summary conviction. Until he or she elects, the DWI offence is deemed to be prosecuted by indictment. Most Canadian DWI offences are prosecuted by summary conviction.

The usual penalty for a first DWI offence in Canada is a fine.The minimum second DWI offence penalty is 30 days in jail. The minimum penalty for a third DWI is 120 days in jail. There is always a DWI driving prohibition and the local province will suspend a DWI offender's driver's licence.

If a US citizen or other non-Canadian citizen is convicted of a DWI offence in the USA or a dwi offence in any country other than Canada, the DWI offender will be inadmissible to Canada on grounds of criminality, unless rehabilitated, because the DWI offence is deemed to be a Canadian DWI offence and all Canadian DWI offences are deemed indictable (similar to a US felony - see above) unless the Crown has elected to proceed with the DWI offence by summary conviction (which will never have happened because the DWI offense occurred outside Canada. The situation will be different if the DWI offence occurs in Canada and the Crown elects to proceed by summary conviction which they normally do.

Click the banner for more Canadian DWI law information.

 

DWI, D.W.I., or driving while intoxicated is, however, an important concept used in the United States. For more detailed DWI legal information click on one of the links below:

 

Alabama DWI  DWI in Alabama   dwi in Alabama   Alabama dwi Alabama d.w.i. D.W.I. in AL AL d.w.i.
Alaska DWI  DWI in Alaska   dwi in Alaska   Alaska dwi Alaska d.w.i. D.W.I. in AK AK d.w.i.
Alberta DWI  DWI in Alberta   dwi in Alberta   Alberta dwi Alberta d.w.i. D.W.I. in AB AB d.w.i.
Arizona DWI  DWI in Arizona   dwi in Arizona   Arizona dwi Arizona d.w.i. D.W.I. in AZ AZ d.w.i.
Arkansas DWI  DWI in Arkansas   dwi in Arkansas   Arkansas dwi Arkansas d.w.i. D.W.I. in AR AR d.w.i.
British Columbia DWI  DWI in British Columbia   dwi in British Columbia   British Columbia dwi British Columbia d.w.i. D.W.I. in BC BC d.w.i.
California DWI  DWI in California   dwi in California   California dwi California d.w.i. D.W.I. in CA CA d.w.i.
Colorado DWI  DWI in Colorado   dwi in Colorado   Colorado dwi Colorado d.w.i. D.W.I. in CO CO d.w.i.
Connecticut DWI  DWI in Connecticut   dwi in Connecticut   Connecticut dwi Connecticut d.w.i. D.W.I. in CT CT d.w.i.
Delaware DWI  DWI in Delaware   dwi in Delaware   Delaware dwi Delaware d.w.i. D.W.I. in DE DE d.w.i.
District of Columbia DWI  DWI in District of Columbia   dwi in District of Columbia   District of Columbia dwi District of Columbia d.w.i. D.W.I. in DC DC d.w.i.
England DWI  DWI in England   dwi in England   England dwi England d.w.i. D.W.I. in EN EN d.w.i.
Florida DWI  DWI in Florida   dwi in Florida   Florida dwi Florida d.w.i. D.W.I. in FL FL d.w.i.
Georgia DWI  DWI in Georgia   dwi in Georgia   Georgia dwi Georgia d.w.i. D.W.I. in GA GA d.w.i.
Hawaii DWI  DWI in Hawaii   dwi in Hawaii   Hawaii dwi Hawaii d.w.i. D.W.I. in HI HI d.w.i.
Idaho DWI  DWI in Idaho   dwi in Idaho   Idaho dwi Idaho d.w.i. D.W.I. in ID ID d.w.i.
Illinois DWI  DWI in Illinois   dwi in Illinois   Illinois dwi Illinois d.w.i. D.W.I. in IL IL d.w.i.
Indiana DWI  DWI in Indiana   dwi in Indiana   Indiana dwi Indiana d.w.i. D.W.I. in IN IN d.w.i.
Iowa DWI  DWI in Iowa   dwi in Iowa   Iowa dwi Iowa d.w.i. D.W.I. in IA IA d.w.i.
Kansas DWI  DWI in Kansas   dwi in Kansas   Kansas dwi Kansas d.w.i. D.W.I. in KS KS d.w.i.
Kentucky DWI  DWI in Kentucky   dwi in Kentucky   Kentucky dwi Kentucky d.w.i. D.W.I. in KY KY d.w.i.
Louisiana DWI  DWI in Louisiana   dwi in Louisiana   Louisiana dwi Louisiana d.w.i. D.W.I. in LA LA d.w.i.
Maine DWI  DWI in Maine   dwi in Maine   Maine dwi Maine d.w.i. D.W.I. in ME ME d.w.i.
Manitoba DWI  DWI in Manitoba   dwi in Manitoba   Manitoba dwi Manitoba d.w.i. D.W.I. in MB MB d.w.i.
Maryland DWI  DWI in Maryland   dwi in Maryland   Maryland dwi Maryland d.w.i. D.W.I. in MD MD d.w.i.
Massachusetts DWI  DWI in Massachusetts   dwi in Massachusetts   Massachusetts dwi Massachusetts d.w.i. D.W.I. in MA MA d.w.i.
Michigan DWI  DWI in Michigan   dwi in Michigan   Michigan dwi Michigan d.w.i. D.W.I. in MI MI d.w.i.
Minnesota DWI  DWI in Minnesota   dwi in Minnesota   Minnesota dwi Minnesota d.w.i. D.W.I. in MN MN d.w.i.
Mississippi DWI  DWI in Mississippi   dwi in Mississippi   Mississippi dwi Mississippi d.w.i. D.W.I. in MS MS d.w.i.
Missouri DWI  DWI in Missouri   dwi in Missouri   Missouri dwi Missouri d.w.i. D.W.I. in MO MO d.w.i.
Montana DWI  DWI in Montana   dwi in Montana   Montana dwi Montana d.w.i. D.W.I. in MT MT d.w.i.
Nebraska DWI  DWI in Nebraska   dwi in Nebraska   Nebraska dwi Nebraska d.w.i. D.W.I. in NE NE d.w.i.
Nevada DWI  DWI in Nevada   dwi in Nevada   Nevada dwi Nevada d.w.i. D.W.I. in NV NV d.w.i.
New Brunswick DWI  DWI in New Brunswick   dwi in New Brunswick   New Brunswick dwi New Brunswick d.w.i. D.W.I. in NB NB d.w.i.
New Hampshire DWI  DWI in New Hampshire   dwi in New Hampshire   New Hampshire dwi New Hampshire d.w.i. D.W.I. in NH NH d.w.i.
New Jersey DWI  DWI in New Jersey   dwi in New Jersey   New Jersey dwi New Jersey d.w.i. D.W.I. in NJ NJ d.w.i.
New Mexico DWI  DWI in New Mexico   dwi in New Mexico   New Mexico dwi New Mexico d.w.i. D.W.I. in NM NM d.w.i.
New York DWI  DWI in New York   dwi in New York   New York dwi New York d.w.i. D.W.I. in NY NY d.w.i.
Newfoundland DWI  DWI in Newfoundland   dwi in Newfoundland   Newfoundland dwi Newfoundland d.w.i. D.W.I. in NF NF d.w.i.
North Carolina DWI  DWI in North Carolina   dwi in North Carolina   North Carolina dwi North Carolina d.w.i. D.W.I. in NC NC d.w.i.
North Dakota DWI  DWI in North Dakota   dwi in North Dakota   North Dakota dwi North Dakota d.w.i. D.W.I. in ND ND d.w.i.
Northwest Territories DWI  DWI in Northwest Territories   dwi in Northwest Territories   Northwest Territories dwi Northwest Territories d.w.i. D.W.I. in NT NT d.w.i.
Nova Scotia DWI  DWI in Nova Scotia   dwi in Nova Scotia   Nova Scotia dwi Nova Scotia d.w.i. D.W.I. in NS NS d.w.i.
Nunavut DWI  DWI in Nunavut   dwi in Nunavut   Nunavut dwi Nunavut d.w.i. D.W.I. in NU NU d.w.i.
Ohio DWI  DWI in Ohio   dwi in Ohio   Ohio dwi Ohio d.w.i. D.W.I. in OH OH d.w.i.
Oklahoma DWI  DWI in Oklahoma   dwi in Oklahoma   Oklahoma dwi Oklahoma d.w.i. D.W.I. in OK OK d.w.i.
Ontario DWI  DWI in Ontario   dwi in Ontario   Ontario dwi Ontario d.w.i. D.W.I. in ON ON d.w.i.
Oregon DWI  DWI in Oregon   dwi in Oregon   Oregon dwi Oregon d.w.i. D.W.I. in OR OR d.w.i.
Pennsylvania DWI  DWI in Pennsylvania   dwi in Pennsylvania   Pennsylvania dwi Pennsylvania d.w.i. D.W.I. in PA PA d.w.i.
Prince Edward Island DWI  DWI in Prince Edward Island   dwi in Prince Edward Island   Prince Edward Island dwi Prince Edward Island d.w.i. D.W.I. in PE PE d.w.i.
Quebec DWI  DWI in Quebec   dwi in Quebec   Quebec dwi Quebec d.w.i. D.W.I. in QC QC d.w.i.
Rhode Island DWI  DWI in Rhode Island   dwi in Rhode Island   Rhode Island dwi Rhode Island d.w.i. D.W.I. in RI RI d.w.i.
Saskatchewan DWI  DWI in Saskatchewan   dwi in Saskatchewan   Saskatchewan dwi Saskatchewan d.w.i. D.W.I. in SK SK d.w.i.
South Carolina DWI  DWI in South Carolina   dwi in South Carolina   South Carolina dwi South Carolina d.w.i. D.W.I. in SC SC d.w.i.
South Dakota DWI  DWI in South Dakota   dwi in South Dakota   South Dakota dwi South Dakota d.w.i. D.W.I. in SD SD d.w.i.
Tennessee DWI  DWI in Tennessee   dwi in Tennessee   Tennessee dwi Tennessee d.w.i. D.W.I. in TN TN d.w.i.
Texas DWI  DWI in Texas   dwi in Texas   Texas dwi Texas d.w.i. D.W.I. in TX TX d.w.i.
Utah DWI  DWI in Utah   dwi in Utah   Utah dwi Utah d.w.i. D.W.I. in UT UT d.w.i.
Vermont DWI  DWI in Vermont   dwi in Vermont   Vermont dwi Vermont d.w.i. D.W.I. in VT VT d.w.i.
Virginia DWI  DWI in Virginia   dwi in Virginia   Virginia dwi Virginia d.w.i. D.W.I. in VA VA d.w.i.
Washington State DWI  DWI in Washington State   dwi in Washington State   Washington State dwi Washington State d.w.i. D.W.I. in WA WA d.w.i.
West Virginia DWI  DWI in West Virginia   dwi in West Virginia   West Virginia dwi West Virginia d.w.i. D.W.I. in WV WV d.w.i.
Wisconsin DWI  DWI in Wisconsin   dwi in Wisconsin   Wisconsin dwi Wisconsin d.w.i. D.W.I. in WI WI d.w.i.
Wyoming DWI  DWI in Wyoming   dwi in Wyoming   Wyoming dwi Wyoming d.w.i. D.W.I. in WY WY d.w.i.
Yukon DWI  DWI in Yukon   dwi in Yukon   Yukon dwi Yukon d.w.i. D.W.I. in YT YT d.w.i.