Driving Under The Influence Consequences
Most people know instinctively that you should not drive drunk, however many people do not understand that just a couple of drinks or a few beers is considered being under the influence. Since 2002 every state in the union has laws that state anything over .08% blood alcohol content is sufficient for a citation and in some cases jail time. Even with a good DUI attorney, you are going to have to bear some punishment for the crime. Here are the most commonly assigned consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Meetings
Drinking and driving is usually a symptom of a deeper problem, such as alcoholism and drug addiction. For this reason, many judges will determine you have to go to alcohol and drug addiction meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or other similar program in your area. The idea is to help you with the addiction more so than punishing you for your offense.
Victim impact meetings are also commonly prescribed treatment/ punishment for driving under influence. These meetings allow the driver to meet family and friends of those who have been killed or maimed by a drunk driver. For many people these are eye-opening events that shake their foundation.
Suspended License- Driving Restrictions
If you have two or more DUI's in a short amount of time, the legal problems you face are going to multiply exponentially. In depends a great deal on where you live and how adept your DUI attorney is but you could face suspension of your driver's license or other driving restrictions. Today, in many states there is a push for more interlock devices on vehicles of those who have been caught under the influence and behind the wheel.
An interlock device is a breathalyzer that is attached to your ignition. Before you can start the vehicle, you must pass a breath analysis. This machine will keep your vehicle from starting if your blood alcohol content is over a preset limit. Once you get rolling, the machine will intermittently beep for a breath sample, which prevents someone from breathing in it for you if you have been drinking. These machines are not cheap you will be required to pay for the devices installation, plus monitoring.
Conclusion
Drinking and driving is a bad idea all the way around, but it happens and when it does, your first order of business is to contact a DUI attorney. A good attorney will advise you on the best course of action and help you minimize the consequences.
Tags: Alcoholics, alcoholism, Amount Of Time, Beers, Blood Alcohol Content, Breath Analysis, Breathalyzer, Citation, driving restrictions, driving under the influence, Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol, Drug Addiction, Drunk Driver, dui attorney, Family And Friends, influence consequences, Interlock Device, Jail Time, license- driving restrictions, Narcotics, Preset Limit, Victim Impact