New York charges Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated under Vehicle & Traffic Law §1192(2-a) when a driver's blood-alcohol concentration is .18 or higher, more than twice the .08 legal limit. On a first offense it is still a misdemeanor, but the consequences step up, and prosecutors treat it more seriously than a standard DWI.
What the .18 threshold changes
Compared with a first standard misdemeanor DWI ($500–$1,000 fine, six-month revocation), a first Aggravated DWI carries a higher fine of $1,000 to $2,500 and a full one-year license revocation instead of six months. Everything else that attaches to a DWI conviction still applies: up to a year in jail, the mandatory state surcharge and $25 victim fee, the $250-per-year Driver Responsibility Assessment for three years ($750 total), and a minimum 12-month ignition interlock on any vehicle you own or operate. A second Aggravated DWI within ten years is a Class E felony with an 18-month revocation.
The higher the reading, the more the testing matters
An Aggravated DWI depends entirely on a chemical-test number, so the reliability of that number is the center of the case. A .18 result assumes the machine was calibrated and maintained, the operator followed the protocol and the observation period, and nothing distorted the sample. Mouth alcohol from reflux, a rising blood-alcohol curve, individual blood-to-breath ratios, radio-frequency interference, and diet can all inflate a reading, the specific challenges we walk through in our DWI defenses. When the number is the charge, attacking the number is the defense.
How it is defended
The defense begins where every strong DWI defense does: was the stop and arrest lawful, and was the testing done correctly? Because a DWI cannot be reduced below DWAI by statute, a realistic goal on a first offense with a clean record is a reduction, and knowing how a prosecutor evaluates a high-BAC case, from the inside, is a real advantage at the table.
Figures reflect current New York law (VTL §§1192, 1193, 1809; NY DMV) as of 2026 and are general information, not legal advice. Your exact exposure depends on the facts of your case.