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OVI Questions & Answers
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Answer to: DUI, DWI, OMVI, and OVI: What Do They Mean?The acronyms DUI, DWI, OMVI and OVI all refer to the same thing: operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The most commonly used terms are DUI, an acronym for Driving Under the Influence and DWI, an acronym for Driving While Impaired. However, Ohio law no longer uses the DUI and DWI acronyms because, in 1982, Ohio enacted a law that refers to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as OMVI, an acronym for Operating a Motor Vehicle Impaired.
Because a more recent change in Ohio law removed the requirement that a vehicle must be “motorized,” the current acronym that refers to driving under the influence is “OVI” for Operating a Vehicle Impaired. Currently, in Ohio, it is a crime to operate almost any vehicle while impaired. It is now a crime to operate almost any vehicle while impaired. This includes not only motorized “vehicles,” but also, bicycles, horses, horse drawn carriages and several other types of “vehicles.”
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