Driving with a prohibited concentration of alcohol in your blood breath or urine is a separate offense under Ohio law. If you have ever heard anyone refer to "blowing above a .08" they are referring to the most common test administered by law enforcement today, the breath test. Revised Code section 4511.19 sets forth the elements of Ohio’s tough DUI law (Note: The Ohio legislature has changed the universally understood “DUI” with the acronym “OVI). In Ohio, the legal limit for persons 21 and over is any of the following:
- .08 or more by weight of alcohol in blood;
- .08 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath;
- .11 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of urine;
- .17 of one per cent or more by weight of alcohol in the person’s blood:
- .17 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person’s breath:
- .238 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of the person’s urine.
The .17 threshold is used to enhance the penalties for “higher test” offenders, doubling the jail time at each tier of the sentencing.