DUI DEFENSE — VANCOUVER, WA

Negligent Driving Attorney

Negligent Driving in the First Degree — often shortened to “Neg 1” — is one of the most common reductions from a DUI charge in Washington, and one of the most misunderstood. It’s a misdemeanor under RCW 46.61.5249, but unlike a DUI it carries no mandatory jail time and no court-ordered license suspension. The Department of Licensing can still suspend your license independently of the court, and a Neg 1 conviction will still count as a prior offense if you face a new DUI charge within seven years.

What Is Negligent Driving in the First Degree?

Under RCW 46.61.5249, a person commits Negligent Driving in the First Degree by operating a motor vehicle in a manner that is both negligent and endangers (or is likely to endanger) any person or property, while exhibiting the effects of having consumed alcohol, an illegal drug, or any chemical inhaled or ingested for its intoxicating or hallucinatory effects.

Negligent Driving vs. DUI

The two charges look similar on the surface but the legal standards are very different.

A DUI under RCW 46.61.502 requires the State to prove that the driver was actually impaired by alcohol or drugs, or that the driver had a BAC of 0.08 or higher within two hours of driving. Negligent Driving in the First Degree has no per se BAC threshold and no impairment requirement. The officer doesn’t even need a breath test. The State only needs to show that the driving was negligent, that it endangered persons or property, and that the driver exhibited some effect of having consumed a substance.

That lower bar is exactly why Neg 1 is generally easier for the State to prove than a DUI and why it so often shows up as the result of a negotiated plea.

Negligent Driving as a DUI Reduction

For most people who end up charged with or convicted of Neg 1 in Washington, the charge didn’t start out as Neg 1. It started as a DUI that was reduced through negotiation. This is the single most important thing to understand about this charge, because the strategic value of a DUI-to-Neg 1 reduction is significant:

No mandatory jail. A first-offense DUI in Washington carries a mandatory minimum of 24 or 48 consecutive hours in jail (or 15 or 30 days of electronic home monitoring). Neg 1 has no mandatory minimum. The judge has full discretion, and in many cases no jail time is imposed.
No mandatory court-ordered license suspension. A DUI conviction triggers automatic license suspension through the court. Neg 1 does not.
No mandatory court-ordered ignition interlock. A DUI conviction requires an IID under RCW 46.20.720. A Neg 1 conviction generally does not, though the DOL may still impose one administratively in certain circumstances.
Lower fine ceiling and softer collateral consequences. Insurance, employment background checks, and immigration consequences are typically less severe with a Neg 1 than with a DUI.

Penalties for a Negligent Driving Conviction

Negligent Driving in the First Degree is a simple misdemeanor under Washington law. The maximum penalties are:

Up to 90 days in jail
Up to a $1,000 fine
Court-imposed probation conditions (commonly including no further criminal violations, no driving without a valid license and insurance, and no driving with measurable alcohol)

There is no mandatory minimum jail time and no court-ordered license suspension. The actual sentence imposed varies significantly based on the facts of the case, the defendant’s record, and the negotiated terms of any plea agreement.

Will a Neg 1 Count Against You Later?

Yes, if it was originally charged as a DUI.

Under RCW 46.61.5055(14), a Negligent Driving in the First Degree conviction counts as a “prior offense” for DUI sentencing purposes if the original charge was a DUI or Physical Control. The look-back period is seven years measured from the date of arrest on the new offense, not the date of conviction.

What that means in practice: if you accept a DUI-to-Neg 1 reduction today and then get arrested for a new DUI within seven years, the prosecutor on that new case will treat you as a second offender. That triggers mandatory minimum jail time, longer license suspensions, and significantly higher penalties under RCW 46.61.5055.

The opposite is also true and worth knowing: a Neg 1 conviction that was not originally charged as a DUI does not count as a prior offense for future DUI sentencing.

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