("Drunk Driving-United States" 2005).

             In case of alcohol consumption, most states laws have designated the legal limit of blood alcohol content (BAC) for drunk driving at 0.08 (i.e., 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood). In cases of driving under the influence of prescription medication or illicit drugs there is no "per se" or legal limit. Instead, in cases of driving under the influence of drugs other than alcohol, the key factor is whether the driver's faculties were impaired by the substance that was consumed. Due to this reason, the detection and successful prosecution of drivers impaired by prescription medication or illegal drugs is difficult.

             Besides performing a chemical test (blood, urine, or breath analysis) in order to determine the BAC of the offender, a law enforcing officer may also administer a Field Sobriety Test (FST) on a suspect driver. There are certain standardized FSTs such as the "Walk and Turn" test, the "One-leg Stand" and "Horizontal Gaze Test," which can reliably determine the level of impairment of an intoxicated driver. (Ibid.).

             The Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) enacted in 1998 encourages States to enact Repeat Intoxicated Driver laws providing for minimum penalty for repeat offenders such as:.

             a)Suspension of driver's license for not less than one year.

             b)Impoundment, immobilization, or installation of ignition interlock system on vehicles.

             c)An assessment of the individual's degree of abuse of alcohol and treatment as appropriate.

             d)Not less than 30 days community service or 5 days of imprisonment for 2nd offense and not less than 60 days community service or 10 days of imprisonment for 3rd and subsequent offense. ("Minimum Penalties for Repeat offenders" n.d.).

             DUI Programs.

             As mentioned in the introduction, there are a number of DUI programs in the United States that seek to control the menace of drunk driving through education, counseling and treatment of the offenders.