Sebastopol Couple Arrested on 2 Separate DUIs (CA Vehicle Code 23152(a) and 23152(b))

According to their own explanation, 68-year-old husband and his 65-year-old wife (names withheld in order to protect the privacy of the accused)  spent the day drinking this past Saturday.  They must have had a really good time because when he took off, ostensibly to run an errand, and didn’t come home right away, his wife got into her SUV to find him.  By the time she managed to locate her husband, however, he’d already been pulled over by local law enforcement officials.  So, when she pulled up next to his wrecked vehicle, she was also arrested, both on charges of DUI.

California DUI laws, as many people know, are pretty strict.  They can also be quite complex.  If you are caught driving a car or other vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, then you would be subject to California Vehicle Code 23152(a); this is the most basic DUI charge.  It doesn’t even matter if the drugs you are taking are prescription, you could still find yourself in trouble.

Furthermore, the legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) while operating a motorized vehicle is 0.08% in the state of California.  But what happens if your BAC is over that limit?  This is called the ‘per se’ law (CA VC 23152(b)) and it means that you can be arrested on separate charges.  In other words, you could be subject to penalties for 2 crimes, that of simply driving under the influence and  that of driving with a BAC of at or over 0.08%.

The couple were booked into the same system on the same evening at the same time.  He may fare better than his wife, as she already has a prior DUI conviction on her record.