New York separates the traffic offense from the crime. Driving while intoxicated is charged under Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1192. When intoxicated or impaired operation causes serious physical injury or death, the Penal Law supplies a separate and more serious charge, and both can be pending at once.

The Underlying VTL 1192 Charge

Section 1192 contains several distinct provisions: impairment by alcohol, intoxication with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more for non-commercial operators, aggravated driving while intoxicated at 0.18 or more, common-law intoxication regardless of the reading, impairment by drugs, and impairment by a combination of alcohol and drugs. A first offense is a misdemeanor; a prior conviction within ten years makes the charge a felony. Which subdivision is charged determines what the People must prove and what defense applies.

Causation Does the Work in the Felony Case

A vehicular assault or vehicular manslaughter charge requires the People to connect the impaired operation to the injury or death. Intoxication alone does not establish that connection. Reconstruction, event data recorder downloads, roadway and lighting conditions, the conduct of other drivers, and the mechanism of injury all bear on causation, and they are the subject matter of these cases far more often than the breath or blood reading is.

The DMV Case Runs Separately

License consequences are administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles on its own timetable and are not resolved by the criminal disposition. An out-of-state driver faces an additional layer: New York reports the outcome, and the home state applies its own rules to it.

Pages in This Section

The pages below address the individual charges in this group.

Frequently Asked Questions

What blood alcohol concentration supports a per se charge in New York?

Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1192 sets 0.08 or more for non-commercial operators, and 0.18 or more for aggravated driving while intoxicated. There is also a common-law intoxication provision that does not depend on a numerical reading.

When does a New York DWI become a felony?

Under section 1192, a first offense is a misdemeanor and a prior conviction within ten years makes the charge a felony. A separate Penal Law charge applies where impaired operation causes serious physical injury or death.

Does the criminal case resolve my license?

No. The Department of Motor Vehicles administers license consequences separately and on its own schedule. An out-of-state driver also faces whatever the home state does with the reported outcome.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the founding attorney of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., a firm practicing since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him.

Speak With Mr. Sris

A vehicular felony is prosecuted as a violent crime, not as a traffic matter. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.

Last reviewed: August 24, 2026.

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