CJI’s Traffic Safety Division has taken significant steps to become a national leader in impaired driving prevention and enforcement. From participating in national mobilizations like “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" to providing law enforcement with the training and tools they need, the division continues its work to reduce the prevalence of impaired driving on Indiana roads.
Working towards this goal, CJI has a dedicated program manager overseeing the coordination of Indiana's Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and Drug Recognition Evaluation Training programs. The division is also working overtime to provide education and training to law enforcement, judges and prosecutors, along with making improvements to the state traffic records program through various grant opportunities with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Indiana Impaired Driving Laws
Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated
Read Indiana's current laws for driving while intoxicated.
If You Are Arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated
- You will be handcuffed and taken to the police station.
- Your car and your person will be searched.
- Your car will be towed at your expense.
- You will be asked to take a certified breath test. If you refuse, your license will automatically be suspended for one year. (Implied consent law IC 9-30-6-1)
- If you take a breath test and it shows that your blood alcohol content is .08% or more, your driver’s license will be suspended for a minimum of 30 days.
- To be released from jail, bail will have to be posted.
If You Are Convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated
First Offense
- You will have to pay court costs and fees in excess of $300.
- You may receive a jail sentence of up to one year.
- You will be fined up to $5,000.
- Your license may be suspended up to two (2) years, or
- You may be placed on probation and be required to enroll in, and pay for, a substance abuse education course. Your license may also be suspended for a minimum of 30 days followed by a 180-day probationary period in which you can only drive for employment purposes.
- You may be required to attend a victim impact panel.
- You may be required to submit to urine testing for drugs and alcohol.
- You may also face other terms of probation.
Second Offense
- You will be imprisoned for a minimum of five days or up to three years, and/or be required to perform community service.
- You will be fined up to $10,000.
- Your license will be suspended at least 180 days and up to two years.
- You will also face other terms of probation listed under first offense.
Third Offense
- You may be imprisoned for a minimum of 10 days and up to three years and/or be required to perform community service.
- You will be fined up to $10,000.
- Your license will be suspended for a least one year and may be suspended for up to 10 years.
- You may be adjudged as a habitual traffic violator.
- You may be charged and sentenced as a habitual substance offender, for which you may be imprisoned for an additional term of one year and up to an additional eight years.
- You will also face other terms of probation listed under first offense.
Open Containers & Consumption in a Motor Vehicle
Read Indiana's current open container and consumption laws.
Minor Consumption and Fake IDs
Read Indiana's current minor consumption and false identification laws.
- Partners & Programs
DUI: Taskforce Indiana - ICJI funds 350 municipal and county law enforcement agencies throughout Indiana to participate in overtime-funded impaired driving patrols. Patrols are conducted year round. With the participation of the Indiana State Police and the “Operation Pullover” program, DUI enforcement is conducted in all 92 Indiana counties.
Participating agencies are required to be active in the statewide "Operation Pullover" program and each officer is required to be certified in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST). Each task force has a Task Force Commander (TFC) who is responsible for project coordination, data collection and reporting.
The DUI Taskforce Indiana participants will use saturation patrols, multi-jurisdictional efforts, and high visibility enforcement such as sobriety checkpoints to reduce alcohol-related crashes in their counties.
Fatal Alcohol Crash Teams (FACT) adjudicate impaired drivers who have caused crashes involving serious bodily injury or death. A prosecutor is available to consult, train and advise all law enforcement and local prosecutors. Team members are chosen from various agencies across the particular county to ensure that the Team is made of highly trained and the best equipped police officers.
The Indiana State Excise Police, the enforcement arm of the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission, is responsible for the prevention of underage drinking and eliminating access to alcoholic beverages to persons under 21 years of age. The Excise Police manage the “Cops in Shops” and the “Stop Underage Drinking and Sales” programs. The overtime enforcement program targets large events and universities where underage drinking is likely to occur.
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) has a full-time coordinator to formulate strategies and programs statewide in order to strengthen Indiana’s youth program. This program is involved on both the high school and middle school levels throughout the State of Indiana.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorney’s Council trains the 92 county prosecutors and their deputies in alcohol-related offense prosecution and adjudication. Training and legal updates are also available for the law enforcement agencies that participate in the “Operation Pullover,” “Big City / County,” and “DUI: Task Force Indiana” programs.
Roadside Oral Fluid Program
The Roadside Oral Fluid Program was created by ICJI's Traffic Safety Division to prevent crashes and save lives. Since the program's launch in December of 2020, the division has provided more than 50 Indiana law enforcement agencies with a new roadside tool to identify and keep drug-impaired drivers off the road. The device, called the SoToxa Mobile Test System, is a handheld analyzer that uses an oral fluid swab to detect the presence of six kinds of drugs: cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, cannabis (THC), amphetamine and benzodiazepines. Currently, there are just under 200 devices in use in Indiana. Learn more
Ignition Interlock
CJI has been charged with establishing and implementing regulations for ignition interlock service centers and installation technicians, the installation of ignition interlock devices, requirements for the removal of an ignition interlock device, and administrative procedures for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a certification.
Contact
For assistance, please contact the Ignition Interlock Program Manager.
Harry Dunn
Hdunn@cji.in.gov
317-646-2877