DUI/DWI Terms and Definitions

Boaters Intoxication
Drinking While Boating Open containers are legal, but operators of boats are subject to boating while intoxicated laws, similar to driving a vehicle. Operators or passengers may also be subject to public intoxication laws

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
Horizontal gaze nystagmus is a naturally occurring involuntary jerking of the eyeballs as they gaze side to side. It is theorized that when a person is impaired by alcohol, the nystagmus (the jerking of the eyeballs) is magnified or pronounced.

Public Intoxication
Public intoxication is the appearance of a person who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol in a place open to the general public. In most American jurisdictions, public intoxication is considered a misdemeanor

Impairment
Well known is the fact that the consumption of alcohol can cause impairment. Perhaps less recognized is that fact that impairment rises gradually at lower levels but dramatically at higher levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

DUI
DUI is driving under the influence; it is the offense of operating a motor vehicle in a physically or mentally impaired condition, especially after consuming alcohol or drugs. Generally, this is a lesser offense than driving while intoxicated.

Sleep Deprivation
Drowsy driving is greatly under reported because there is no test for it, as there is for intoxication, no clear way to identify it, and many states don't even have a code for it on their vehicle accident reporting forms.

Excessive Drunkenness
A state of drunkenness in which a person is so far deprived of reason and understanding that he or she is incapable of understanding the character and consequences of an act.

Field Sobriety Tests
Field Sobriety Tests sometimes referred to by the acronym FSTs, are tests administered by the police to purportedly assess intoxication.

B.A.C.
B.A.C. is an acronym for Blood Alcohol Concentration. The most definitive way to test for B.A.C. is to test blood. The most common testing method is to take samples of breath (most usually in New Jersey with a “Breathalyzer”). The alcohol in the breath is mathematically converted to a blood alcohol reading.

Breathalyzer
Breathalyzer is the trademark (of National Draeger, Inc. which acquired the Breathalyzer division from Smith and Wesson) for the most commonly used breath-testing device in New Jersey. The Breathalyzer converts breath alcohol into a blood alcohol reading.