Operating a Vehicle Under Influence (OVI) Law and Legal Definition
In some states like Ohio a drunken driving charge is known as Operating a Vehicle under Influence, or OVI. DUI (Driving under influence) and DWI (Driving while intoxicated) are used interchangeable with the legal terms “Operating a Vehicle under the Influence”, (OVI) or Operating a Motor Vehicle while Under the Influence, Impaired, or Intoxicated (OMVI).A person can be charged with and found guilty of OVI by either:
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or
- Being found over the legal limit of blood alcohol content.
The penalties for being convicted of DUI/OVI depend on prior criminal and traffic records, the level of alcohol in blood, and the specific facts of the case at hand. Higher BAC levels can double the penalties under Ohio DUI laws.
The following is an excerpt from a State law ( Ohio ) on Operating a Vehicle under Influence:
ORC Ann. 4511.19. Operation while under the influence of alcohol or drug of abuse or with specified concentration of alcohol or drug in certain bodily substances
(A) (1) No person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state, if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:
(a) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.
(b) The person has a concentration of eight-hundredths of one per cent or more but less than seventeen-hundredths of one per cent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's whole blood.
(c) The person has a concentration of ninety-six-thousandths of one per cent or more but less than two hundred four-thousandths of one per cent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's blood serum or plasma.
(d) The person has a concentration of eight-hundredths of one gram or more but less than seventeen-hundredths of one gram by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath.
(e) The person has a concentration of eleven-hundredths of one gram or more but less than two hundred thirty-eight-thousandths of one gram by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of the person's urine.
(f) The person has a concentration of seventeen-hundredths of one per cent or more by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's whole blood.
(g) The person has a concentration of two hundred four-thousandths of one per cent or more by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's blood serum or plasma.
(h) The person has a concentration of seventeen-hundredths of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath.
(i) The person has a concentration of two hundred thirty-eight-thousandths of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of the person's urine.
