In 1998, President Clinton established a federal standard for intoxication of 0.08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or higher. Operating a motor vehicle with a BAC at or above that BAC is grounds for Driving Under the Influence (DUI), regardless of whether any physical signs of intoxication are present. After this standard went into place nationally, several states, including Kansas, put laws in place that place harsher penalties on offenders with especially high BACs.
According to Kansas statute, KSA§ 8-1014, all Kansas drivers convicted of a DUI face license suspension. However, the duration of the suspension for a first offense increases to one year if the offender’s BAC is 0.15 or higher. Additionally, once a license suspension has been served, the offender is restricted to driving only with an ignition interlock device (IID) for two years.
Further offenses carry penalties as follows:
- Second offense – license suspension for one year, then restricted driving with an IID for three years
- Third offense – license suspension for one year, then restricted driving with an IID for four years
- Fourth offense – license suspension for one year, then restricted driving with an IID for five years
- Fifth offense – license suspension for one year, then restricted driving with an IID for ten years
