{"data":{"id":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-20-138.1","jurisdiction":"us-nc","citation":"N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-138.1","heading":"Impaired driving.","body":"(a)\tOffense. - A person commits the offense of impaired driving if he drives any vehicle upon any highway, any street, or any public vehicular area within this State:\n(1)\tWhile under the influence of an impairing substance; or\n(2)\tAfter having consumed sufficient alcohol that he has, at any relevant time after the driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The results of a chemical analysis shall be deemed sufficient evidence to prove a person's alcohol concentration; or\n(3)\tWith any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance, as listed in G.S. 90-89, or its metabolites in his blood or urine.\n(a1)\tA person who has submitted to a chemical analysis of a blood sample, pursuant to G.S. 20-139.1(d), may use the result in rebuttal as evidence that the person did not have, at a relevant time after driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.\n(b)\tDefense Precluded. - The fact that a person charged with violating this section is or has been legally entitled to use alcohol or a drug is not a defense to a charge under this section.\n(b1)\tDefense Allowed. - Nothing in this section shall preclude a person from asserting that a chemical analysis result is inadmissible pursuant to G.S. 20-139.1(b2).\n(c)\tPleading. - In any prosecution for impaired driving, the pleading is sufficient if it states the time and place of the alleged offense in the usual form and charges that the defendant drove a vehicle on a highway or public vehicular area while subject to an impairing substance.\n(d)\tSentencing Hearing and Punishment. - Impaired driving as defined in this section is a misdemeanor. Upon conviction of a defendant of impaired driving, the presiding judge shall hold a sentencing hearing and impose punishment in accordance with G.S. 20-179.\n(e)\tException. - Notwithstanding the definition of \"vehicle\" pursuant to G.S. 20-4.01(49), for purposes of this section the word \"vehicle\" does not include a horse. (1983, c. 435, s. 24; 1989, c. 711, s. 2; 1993, c. 285, s. 1; 2006-253, s. 9.)","path":["Chapter 20. Motor Vehicles.","Article 3. Motor Vehicle Act of 1937.","Part 10. Operation of Vehicles and Rules of the Road."],"source_url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_20/GS_20-138.1.html","current_through":"S.L. 2026-30","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T17:58:08Z","sha256":"9dc702496228b6511419912beebf9bbc6b854cf0c9b23cc0b38ccb72e7a87d61","source_id":"us-nc","stale":false,"prev":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-20-138","next":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-20-138.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}