Alcohol, Drugs, DWI and Driver Responsibility
The limits that define DWI
New Mexico is a per se DWI state: driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher is DWI regardless of how well you seem to drive. Drivers under 21 face a 0.02 limit, and commercial drivers a 0.04 limit. DWI can also be charged below those numbers when driving is impaired, and it covers prescription drugs, marijuana, and illegal drugs as well as alcohol.
Implied consent and penalties
By driving in New Mexico you consent to breath or blood testing. Refusing a test leads to license revocation - one year for a first refusal - and the refusal can be used against you. A first DWI carries up to 90 days in jail, a fine, license revocation, and an ignition interlock requirement; a fourth conviction is a felony. Open containers of alcohol in the passenger area are illegal.
Driver responsibility
After any crash, stop, help anyone injured, exchange information, and report the crash when required. Never leave the scene of an injury crash. Fatigue and distraction impair judgment much like alcohol, so plan rest breaks and put the phone away.
Worked example
A 20-year-old driver is stopped with a BAC of 0.03 and no sign of bad driving. Reasoning: the adult 0.08 limit does not apply because the driver is under 21, and the under-21 limit is 0.02. At 0.03 the driver is over that limit and can be charged with DWI even without weaving or speeding.
Traps that cost marks
Believing coffee, food, or a cold shower sobers you up; assuming a BAC of 0.07 is legal to drive; thinking refusal avoids consequences; forgetting that prescription medicine can support a DWI charge; leaving the scene of a crash.