Long Beach Island or LBI is a collection of six municipalities contained on an 18-mile long barrier island nestled between the Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The six beachfront communities include: Barnegat Light, Long Beach Township, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom, and Beach Haven. The total year-round population of Long Beach Island is around 20,000. During the summer months, the population swells nearly five times to almost 100,000 and the roadways inevitably become congested.
Due to the large population explosion during the summer months and the number of activities and attractions contained on Long Beach Island, it is no surprise that LBI saw approximately 123 DWI, DUI, and refusal charges written throughout its six municipalities. DWI, DUI, and refusal charges, while not criminal, are quite serious and have long-lasting, life altering repercussions.
If you are caught operating a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or boat while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor, habit forming drug (legal or illegal), or narcotic, you will be charged with a DWI or DUI. In order to be charged, the LBI Police Officer must read a standard statement outlining your legal rights and obligations regarding DWI violation. After reading the statement the officer must ask if you will submit to a chemical test to determine your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). If you agree to submit to the test and your answer is not ambiguous, the officer will take you to a Long Beach Island Police Station (depending on which municipality you were stopped in) where a trained officer will administer a BAC test using the Draeger Alcotest® 7110.
Since the Draeger Alcotest® 7110 device is so sensitive, New Jersey law has mandated that the officer observe you for a period of no less than 20 minutes before he asks you to breath into the machine to ensure that you have not done anything or will not do anything that may skew the results. Once you breath into the device, your BAC will be taken using both infrared and electro-chemical sensors. If the machine performed without malfunction and it takes a BAC reading of 0.08% or above, you will be charged with a per se DWI. If, however, your BAC reading is under 0.08% or the officer has not administered one, you might still be charged with a DWI.
You can be written a DWI charge if the officer believes that you were driving drunk. He may testify in court that the charge was proper because he observed you slurring words, observed the smell of alcohol, observed you staggering, or observed you fumbling while attempting to produce necessary documentation. Without a BAC reading or one below the statutory limit, the State or municipality can only charge and convict you of a first tier, first offense DWI.
If convicted of a DWI or DUI you could face the following penalties depending on your actual BAC reading and the number of previous DWI drunk driving convictions you have sustained: loss of license for up to 1 year, a $500.00 fine, other monetary penalties, up to 30 days in jail, must meet the program and fee requirements of the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), and could possibly be forced to install an ignition interlock device in your car.
If you have been charged with a DWI, DUI, or refusal, contact the experienced New Jersey DWI lawyers of Villani & DeLuca to defend your case. Located in Ocean County, the LBI DWI lawyers of Villani & DeLuca often appear in the municipal courts of Long Beach Island. Carmine R. Villani, Esq. is experienced in handling New Jersey DWI, DUI, and refusal cases. In addition to courtroom experience, Mr. Villani is one of a very few attorneys who holds the distinction of being Alcotest® 7110 trained. This means that Mr. Villani was trained by Draeger Safety Diagnostics, Inc., to operate the Alcotest® 7110 MKIII-C breathalyzer machine which is the only machine used in Long Beach Island and the entire State of New Jersey to determine the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of suspected NJ drunk drivers.
Call 732-892-9050 today for a free initial consultation.
