Vocabulary for DUI & Reckless Driving Cases

BAC: Stands for Blood Alcohol Level. A BAC of 0.08% means that there are 0.08 grams of alcohol in every 100 milliliters of that person’s blood.

Coroner’s Class: A program offered by the Clark County Coroner where instructors try to deter defendants from making irresponsible decisions in the future (such as driving under the influence), by showing them graphic photos and videos of car accident scenes and victims where a DUI offender either lost his or her own life of caused the death of another person. Defendants may register for the class at the Traffic/Customer Service area of the Regional Justice Center. The program usually lasts three hours. For more information, click here.

DUI School: A day-long substance abuse education course for people convicted of a DUI. It is generally about eight hours long and can be done in one or two sessions. Generally, it can be completed online or in-person and costs less than $200.

Ignition interlocks: Devices that can be installed in a vehicle that measures alcohol on the driver’s breath. Interlocks keep the car from starting if the driver has a BAC above a certain level, usually 0.02%.

Restitution: A condition of many cases where a Defendant must make payments to the victim of their crime for property damage, medical bills, counseling, and other expenses that the victim incurred as a result of the Defendant’s actions.

Restricted License: A license that allows a person to operate a vehicle under certain guidelines such as installing a breath interlock device. It is generally an alternative to a driver’s license suspension.

Revoked License: A license that has been taken away permanently. A person with a revoked license is legally unable to drive.

Suspended License: A license that is unable to be used. A person with a suspended license is legally unable to drive.

Victim Impact Panel: An awareness program for defendants convicted of a DUI. The purpose of the program is to prevent defendants from driving under the influence in the future by having victims share drunk driving affected their lives. The program is usually facilitated by a police officer or other trained personnel and conducted in a safe environment where defendants can be enlightened as to how their choice can impact their lives and the lives of others. Generally, judges require that the program be taken in-person unless doing so would present an extreme hardship to the defendant. The program usually lasts between one and three hours and costs less than $100.