Early this morning, roughly 24 hours after his arrest for suspicion of DUI, the state of Maryland has released the formal charges against Michael Phelps on its public records website.
The 5 specific charges are:
1. CROSSING DOUBLE PAINTED TRAFFIC LANES IN A TUNNEL – Section 21, Sub-Section 1412, Paragraph A (Special provisions for tunnels) of the Maryland Transportation Code reads: (a) Except at the direction of authorized personnel, vehicular traffic may not cross the double white lines that designate the vehicular traffic lanes in a tunnel.
2. EXCEEDING MAXIMUM SPEED: 84 MPH IN A POSTED 45 MPH ZONE – Section 21, Sub-Section 801.1 (Basic rule) of the Maryland Transportation Code has limitations regarding speed limits.
3. DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED BY ALCOHOL – Section 21, Sub-Section 902, Paragraph B1 (Driving while under the influence of alcohol, while under the influence of alcohol per se, while impaired by alcohol, or while impaired by a drug, a combination of drugs, a combination of one or more drugs and alcohol, or while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance) reads: “A person may not drive or attempt to drive any vehicle while impaired by alcohol.”
4. DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL PER SE – Section 21, Sub-Section 902, Paragraph A2 (Driving while under the influence of alcohol, while under the influence of alcohol per se, while impaired by alcohol, or while impaired by a drug, a combination of drugs, a combination of one or more drugs and alcohol, or while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance) reads: “A person may not drive or attempt to drive any vehicle while the person is under the influence of alcohol per se.”
5. DRIVING VEHICLE WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL – Section 21, Sub-Section 902, Paragraph A1 (Driving while under the influence of alcohol, while under the influence of alcohol per se, while impaired by alcohol, or while impaired by a drug, a combination of drugs, a combination of one or more drugs and alcohol, or while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance) reads: “A person may not drive or attempt to drive any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.”
A charge of “Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Per Se” means that a driver’s blood alcohol level exceeds the maximum allowable limit of .08, according to DrivingLaws.org. This is as compared to a DUI where an officer determines that a suspect is too impaired to drive regardless of their blood alcohol content.
The applicable fines, if found guilty, to the first two charges listed above are $70 and $290, respectively. The charges also make note that the allegations did not contribute to an accident and caused no personal injury.
The above are charges filed by the responding officer, and Phelps remains innocent until proven guilty.
Allow me to be clear from the start: MP is a phenomenon, no doubt. Love to watch him create wakes down the pool and his competitive spirit.
Now, as for the DUI and what would be termed ‘reckless driving’ in my home state, he behaved like a selfish, arrogant child. He put lives in danger—and regardless of whether or not he hurt or killed someone (thank goodness he didn’t), the very real possibility was there and he didn’t give a hang about anyone but himself. In my career, there were hundreds of collisions caused by drunk drivers that not only critically injured others, those who chose to get behind the wheel of a 3,000 pound missile took the lives… Read more »
The court should take away his license for a year and FINA should ban him from competing until after the beginning of 2016.
A couple of thoughts.
1. I’ve never been arrested for DUI or anything else but I can only imagine being arrested, handcuffed, booked, fingerprinted, and held in a cage until someone has to bail you out is about the most humiliating thing in life for most people. I would have thought MP would have had better judgment after having to go through that experience as a teenager. One DUI is a lapse in judgment. Two DUIs in inexcusable.
2. He will be.punished by USAS. Naysayers are being stupid if they think otherwise. I am guessing 6 month suspension.
3. This is a big deal. We have 100 people on a banned list. Had MP hurt or killed… Read more »
Well then is USAS going to punish all others involved in USAS who have DUI’s?
But – no one was hurt or killed. There are many people still participating in USA Swimming who have hurt others.
Perjury is a crime and the reason people lie is to protect themselves or others, thus hurting someone else. When a national team member (Olympian) participates is a corrupt board of review hearing, someone else is getting hurt. I’m sure you know why there will no longer be LSC boards of review but rather zone review boards. USA Swimming hurts victims over and over and over again, but the scars and wounds are invisible so it’s OK?
Michael Phelps actions were inexcusable and Maryland will sentence according to their guidelines. If he is charged with a felony, USA Swimming… Read more »
I think the bigger picture for Michael is that this is his second DUI and third offense, if you count the pot smoking-regardless of the legalization in some states, it was against the law when he was cited. That said, there’s a pattern here of self-medicating. The most interesting thing is he’s been CAUGHT twice as a driving drunk, but how many times has he gotten away with it?
Phelps is incredibly FORTUNATE. This situation could’ve had a very TRAGIC outcome.
A drunken driver speeding through a tunnel veering from lane to lane. This happened late at night in Paris on August 31, 1997. The drunken driver was Henri Paul. His crash killed himself and two of his passengers: PR|NCESS Di and DODI FAYED.
Phelps should lose his license for a year. Some PSAs would also be helpful.
Phelps’ income stream will also be hit as some of his sponsors invoke “Good Citizenship” clauses in their contracts and cancel endorsement deals. (This will also impact Coach Bob Bowman who, I believe, receives a portion of those deals — correct me if i’m wrong. Thus, yesterday was a bad… Read more »
The courts will hold Phelps accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Personally, I’m very disappointed. At this point, I’m not disappointed because our “face of USA swimming” now has another red mark on his permeant record but more in the sense of someone not learning from their mistake. Phelps’ actions are inexcusable. He’s made this mistake before. Whether it was 10 years ago or not he should of learned from his past transgressions. We all go through it and his is magnified given the pedestal we have a tendency to put people on who are very, very good at something. There is no excuse for driving under the influence. Zip, zero, zilch. Especially, in major cities such as… Read more »
I’m not saying he shouldn’t be held accountable, he absolutely should. He should be treated like any other person who is charged with a DUI, what I’m saying we should not judge him or try to guess what it’s like being him or if he has problems..
We all make some bad decisions in life it doesn’t mean we have problems. It means we made a bad decision..
84 mph in a 45 mph zone, alcohol. 🙄
I’m a huge fan but I think he deserves to lose his license at least one year.
But I don’t understand why USA swimming should ban him. There’s no link with swimming here.
Just for my education 🙂 , you say the driver’s blood alcohol level is .08. It means .08 g per litre of blood? If yes, it’s very low. Here in France it’s .5 g/litre of blood. I hate alcohol so no problem with your tougher rules.
Is it the same level in other states in USA?
bobo – not quite. In the U.S., it’s basically a straight measurement of what percentage of your bloodstream is alcohol. .08 means that .08% of your blood stream is alcohol. Multiple the number by 10 and you get the equivalent to grams/mL.
In other words, in the same scale, French limit is .05, U.S. is .08. Americans can get away with higher levels of intoxication.
Ok.
It’s crazy. I would have never bet you had a higher level in USA than in France. 🙂
Because about another example, you have much lower maximum authorised speed on the roads.
I’m very surprised. I thought you were near zero, with a zero tolerance.
I’ve found a little graphic for different countries in the world.
http://cftchus.blogvie.com/files/2011/04/drunk-driving-limits.png
After only 24 hours, I’m already tired of hearing about Michael Phelps arrest.
We all got to take an inside look at MP’s private life and his irresponsible actions.
He should be treated like any other citizen facing the same charges, not more or less.
Some of you who think he should be kicked off his team (which I think he’s part owner), suspended from swimming for life (that’s sarcasm…), hung in a public square (even more sarcasm) or upset your little son or daughter need to GET A LIFE!
Let the courts do their job and mete out the punishment. He’s no different than any other person who is sorry they got caught by the cops. He can just… Read more »
a japanese swimmer stole a camera in the Asian Games, he was expelled from Japanese team, detained and had to pay fine to Korean authorities and will have to find his own way back to Japan, after which he will have to face criminal charges from the Jaoanese authorities as well as lifetime sanction and ban from swimming.
And he was never in way endanger his own or other .people liffe.
And you thik US swimming should put a blind eye on Michale’s illegal act wtih fatal potential, for himself or others??
And this is note the first time he’s done, and you must be naive beyond belief if you think these are the only two occasions where Michael DUI
I agree with you, but the powers that be of USA Swimming won’t do anything to disturb their cash cow, he is the spokesperson, the one who actually makes money at professional swimming and I mean real money ( and Natalie of course). One DUI is a mistake in most cases. Two DUI’s becomes a PATTERN, coupled with pot-smoking, that my friend is self-medicating. And he probably believes he is invincible, too.
It seems like punishment for Naoya Tomita by the Japanese swimming federation hasn’t been announced yet?