Criminal Defense Lawyer For Driving While Ability Impaired By Drugs Charges
While most Rochester DWI cases involve defendants who are accused of being unable to safely drive due to the consumption of alcohol, New York State law also outlaws driving while under the influence of drugs.
Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs outlaws the operation of a motor vehicle while the driver’s ability to do so is impaired by a drug.
Although this is similar to the law for Driving While Intoxicated by alcohol, the New York State courts have ruled that proof of being “impaired” is a much lower standard than proof of being “intoxicated.”
All that is required to prove impairment is evidence that the driver’s ability to safely operate a vehicle has been reduced to any degree by drugs.
The Public Health Law sets forth hundreds of different opiates, stimulants, depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens that fall under the category of “drugs.”
It includes both natural and synthetic forms of these substances. While the definition of drugs includes patently illegal substances such as cannabis, cocaine and LSD, it also includes many prescription medications.
The fact that a driver has a prescription for a medication that causes impairment while driving is not a defense to the charge.
As with alcohol-related driving offenses, the impaired driving must have occurred on a public highway, on a private road open to traffic, or in a parking area holding four or more vehicles and not attached to a one or two family residence.
Driving While Ability Impaired By Drugs is a serious criminal charge.
If you have been arrested for impaired driving, we can help you at 585-484-7432.