# IS DUI Legal anywhere in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621 "2012-02-12T19:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/1 "2012-02-12T19:34:16Z")
Is there anywhere in the world where DUI/Driving under the influence on public roads is LEGAL? That is, is there any jurisdiction where, if a cop pulled you over and found you intoxicated, you could NOT be charged with DUI or any **substantially similar offense** , even if it is not _called_ DUI or DWI. For the purposes of this question, the offense of Reckless Driving is not substantially similar to DUI unless driving while under the influence _necessarily_ constitutes Reckless Driving (that is, Reckless Driving would be a Lesser Included Offense of DUI, had DUI been illegal) This question is not necessarily limited to alcohol. I’d be interested in hearing of jurisdictions where DUI is legal for alcohol but not other drugs, jurisdictions where it is legal for everything but alcohol, etc. This question has nothing to do with how to commit or get away with a criminal offense. ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/2 "2012-02-12T19:41:57Z")
Ethiopia for one. I believe several other African countries are the same. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/3 "2012-02-12T19:46:33Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > Ethiopia for one. I believe several other African countries are the same. Are we talking about lack of enforcement or lack of legislation? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/4 "2012-02-12T19:50:03Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Are we talking about lack of enforcement or lack of legislation? My question was about lack of legislation. Do you have a cite for Ethiopia? (Yeah, I know citing a negative is tough, but maybe an incident where a person was obviously DUI under American standards had to be let go because they couldn’t find anything in Ethiopian criminal law to charge them with, or a law review article.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/5 "2012-02-12T20:11:19Z")
I rather think that in many places, getting off being caught is a matter of bribing the police appropriately ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/6 "2012-02-12T20:11:37Z")
From [this Wikipedia list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_driving_law_by_country) the only countries with no alcohol limit are Angola, Comoros, Congo and Ethiopia. Edit: And Indonesia and Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/7 "2012-02-12T21:00:38Z")
OK, now let’s find a country where it is illegal to drive and not be under the influence. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/8 "2012-02-13T07:07:29Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > From [this Wikipedia list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_driving_law_by_country) the only countries with no alcohol limit are Angola, Comoros, Congo and Ethiopia. Edit: And Indonesia and Vietnam. But all those countries could have an offence of “driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs”, or some such wording; the offence just might not be expressed in terms of a specific blood/alcohol level. It may be enough to secure a conviction to show that (a) you had been drinking, or appeared to have drink taken, and (b) your driving was erratic. This might be a more practical approach to law enforcement in places where breathelyser kits are not easily distributed, or the integrity of samples taken is not easily guaranteed, or facilities for conducting and certifying blood tests are limited. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/9 "2012-02-13T09:04:47Z")
[The US State Department](http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1113.html#traffic_safety) doesn’t mention anything about driving while drunk in Ethiopia, but it does say that it’s illegal to operate a motor vehicle while using a cell phone or other electronic communications device, even if it has a hands-free feature. So obviously the country has at least _some_ legal restrictions against impaired driving. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/10 "2012-02-13T10:37:18Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > This might be a more practical approach to law enforcement in places where breathelyser kits are not easily distributed, or the integrity of samples taken is not easily guaranteed, or facilities for conducting and certifying blood tests are limited. Bingo, I doubt there is anywhere aside from places like Somalia where there is no law against impaired driving or reckless driving. There might not be a set alcohol limit but you can still get arrested and the cop will simply testify in court against you. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/11 "2012-02-13T10:45:50Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Bingo, I doubt there is anywhere aside from places like Somalia where there is no law against impaired driving or reckless driving. There might not be a set alcohol limit but you can still get arrested and the cop will simply testify in court against you. That makes sense. Plus the countries listed above (Angola, Comoros, Congo and Ethiopia, Indonesia and Vietnam) have horrific road accidents. Call me a pussy but I’m not encouraged by any nation which might appear to shrug off drink driving. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/12 "2012-02-13T11:34:51Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Bingo, I doubt there is anywhere aside from places like Somalia where there is no law against impaired driving or reckless driving. Even in Somalia there are laws which, while they may not address driving specifically, effectively prohibit certain types of driving while intoxicated. Somalia practises Sharia law, so the consumption of alcohol (and by implication, the consumption of alcohol before or during driving) is prohibited. Admittedly, the ability for the judiciary to enforce any laws has been significantly impaired for the past twenty years. However, this is one area of jurisprudence where it seems the citizenry is perfectly happy to comply; consumption of alcohol simply isn’t a large part of Somali culture. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-dui-legal-anywhere-in-the-world/612621/14 "2013-07-19T08:42:21Z")
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