DUI vs. DWI: What’s the Difference?

DUI means driving under the influence. In some states, the vehicle must be in motion to qualify for a DUI, while in other states, the driver just has to be controlling the vehicle at all, even if it’s not moving.¹ In contrast, DWI stands for driving while intoxicated — i.e., drinking and driving — and is based on someone’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or blood alcohol content.

Some states define DUIs and DWIs by whether the driver is impaired by drugs or alcohol, with DUIs involving drugs and DWIs involving alcohol.² Here are the abbreviations each state uses:

Which Is Worse?

Typically, DWIs are worse than DUIs, as they mean the driver is more impaired. That said, some states don’t differentiate between DUIs and DWIs and have zero-tolerance policies, meaning any BAC over the legal limit is a crime. You should never drive with a BAC over the legal limit.

OUI vs. OWI

While OUI means operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor, OWI means operating while intoxicated without specifying liquor or alcohol.

Alcohol vs. Drug Influence

Alcohol and different types of drugs influence the body differently, particularly while driving.

• Alcohol and marijuana: Both alcohol and marijuana impair judgment, slow reaction times, and affect coordination, making driving difficult.
• Cocaine and methamphetamine: Coke and meth are more likely to lead to reckless or aggressive driving; e.g., road rage.
• Combining drugs and alcohol: When you combine alcohol with one or more drugs, each drug’s effect gets amplified, making driving even more dangerous.
• Prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines: Many medications, even legal and prescribed drugs, cause drowsiness or dizziness, impacting your driving ability.

Each state has different laws on DUIs, DWIs, and other abbreviations that mean driving while intoxicated. To find your state’s laws, check out an interactive map from the Governors Highway Safety Association, linked in our citations.⁴

Are DUIs/DWIs Felonies?

Depending on the number of offenses and the effects of the DUI or DWI (like killing or seriously injuring another person), the charge can be either a misdemeanor or a felony. The classifications come with different punishments.

Do I Need an SR-22 After a DUI Conviction?

Whether or not you’ll need an SR-22 form after a DUI conviction depends on which state you live in. The following states require SR-22s following DUI convictions:

• Alaska, for five years after a first offense, 10 years after a second offense, or 20 years following a third offense
• Arizona, if you’ve had a license revocation or suspension for three years
• Colorado, from specific revocations or suspensions
• Florida, although it requires FR-44s, not SR-22s, for DUI convictions
• Georgia, if you’re a habitual violator with a revoked driver’s license for three to five years
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• North Dakota
• Oregon, any time you have to reinstate your driving privileges
• South Dakota
• Tennessee, if you’re part of the Driver Improvement Program
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming, for three years

How Long a DUI Stays on Your Record

In most states, a DUI will stay on your record anywhere from three to five years. However, in states like California, a DUI will stay on your record for 10 years, much longer than average.⁵

With the right criminal defense and defense attorney, you may be able to reduce a DUI or DWI charge via one of two methods.

Plea Bargain

Pleading guilty to a less serious charge, like reckless driving, may help you reduce your DUI charge, a process known as charge bargaining. A plea bargain is most likely to be successful in the following situations:

• It’s your first DUI conviction.
• You are over the age of 21.
• You did not cause an accident.
• Your BAC at the time of the arrest was low.
• Your criminal background is completely or nearly clean.

Legal Defense

If you don’t want to do a plea bargain, you could potentially reduce a DUI or DWI charge by arguing the following:

• The breathalyzer device was not calibrated properly.
• The police officer did not conduct the field sobriety test properly.
• The traffic stop was illegal.
• The traffic stop was without probable cause.
• Your BAC at the time of the arrest was below the legal limit.⁶

Whether or not you reduce the charge, you may be able to lessen your penalty, whether it’s hours of community service, jail time, or a fine.

Unfortunately, DUIs do negatively affect car insurance rates. If you get a DUI, your premium will increase anywhere from 28 to 371 percent, with an average increase of 80 percent.⁷ Drivers with a DUI conviction are considered high-risk or nonstandard drivers, whom not all insurance companies cover. Insurance providers that cover nonstandard drivers have higher rates compared to companies that cater to standard drivers with a clean driving record.

How Long DUIs Impact Insurance Rates

Your DUI will impact your cost of auto insurance for as long as it’s on your motor vehicle report, which is three to five years in most states. Once that period ends, your premium should decrease.

Reckless driving is driving with a disregard for consequences and safety, not following traffic laws, or causing a collision, injuries, and property damage. Reckless driving, also called careless or dangerous driving, is more than just negligence; it’s intentional, although it’s usually charged as a misdemeanor. Some examples of reckless driving include:

• Driving a certain number of miles per hour over the speed limit (teen speeding is a particular problem)
• Racing another car
• Trying to escape a police officer
• Passing on a two-lane highway where you can’t see oncoming traffic well

Reckless driving may or may not also be a DUI. Wet reckless driving is an informal name for driving recklessly while under the influence. If you plead guilty to reckless driving in order to drop a DUI charge, it counts as wet reckless driving.

Using our proprietary data from thousands of insurance customers looking to be matched with providers from May to October 2021, we uncovered the following DUI statistics:

• People with a DUI are 14 percent less likely to own a home than people without a DUI.
• People with a DUI are 108 times more likely to have had two to five tickets in the past five years.
• People with a DUI are 136 percent more likely to have had an at-fault accident in the past five years.

We also collected some notable third-party DUI statistics:

• Across all age groups, 206 percent more men were arrested for DUI than women in 2019. This disparity was widest for senior drivers age 65 and older — 341 percent more men in this demographic were arrested for DUI than women.
• The age group most likely to be arrested for DUI in 2019 was drivers age 25 to 29. This demographic is 46 percent more likely to be arrested for DUI than the rest of the population. The group least likely was those 65 and older, as senior drivers were 289 percent less likely to have been arrested for DUIs in 2019 compared to the average across all age groups.⁸
• In 2020, 11,654 people died from traffic accidents in which at least one driver was impaired by alcohol, accounting for 30 percent of all traffic fatalities that year.
• Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities increased by 14 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Drinking or doing drugs and then driving is always a bad idea. To keep everyone around you safe and your car insurance premium low, always drive sober or take advantage of rideshare services. Learn more about DUIs and DWIs in our frequently asked questions below.