My DUI nightmare

RyanD
October 26, 2013

It had been maybe fifteen minutes since my last drink. My friends were getting a little restless at the party and I was deeply regretting volunteering to be the designated driver. My house was only a few miles away, and since everyone parked their cars there I didn’t have to make multiple stops. I had heard countless stories about people getting pulled over for drunk driving. I personally had driven under the influence multiple times but had never gotten caught (though I certainly deserved it). Thus the idea of a DUI was little more than an abstract concept.

Doing a quick analysis of the pros (sleeping in my own bed, not having my car parked on the street) and cons (potential DUI, car accident) I decided to round up the troops and head back home. I got a few blocks from the party and things were going swimmingly. Aside from the loud music and rambunctious passengers I felt like I had it all together. My friend cracked open a beer in the back seat and loudly requested a music change…that slight distraction was long enough for me to miss the stop sign. Next thing I knew the red and blues were flashing behind me. I quickly found a place to pull over and immediately started chugging the water bottle in the front seat; my heart was beating out of my chest. I tried to predict the questions I might be asked; and thus come up with clever, “non-drunk” responses. A fuzzy inventory of the night’s drinks flashed through my brain…was it one or two shots of tequila? How many red cups of beer did we have for that beer pong game? My mind was a complete mess by the time the officer knocked on my window.

The Night Of

After a brief field sobriety test as well as a failed breathalyzer test the real “fun” began. I was legally drunk and should not have been operating a vehicle. The police immediately impounded my car and placed me in the back seat of their cruiser. My three passengers had to call a sober driver to come and pick them up, luckily they weren’t arrested for public intoxication. I was taken down to the station for processing and spent the night in the drunk tank because my parents didn’t care to come and get me.

The Day After

After paying a hefty amount to get my car out of impound, and posting bail, I then had to prepare for my court date. I spoke to some acquaintances with experience in these matters and they highly recommended I hire an attorney. DUI laws vary state to state and the process was quite confusing, I figured it was worth the investment to have an experienced attorney to make the process a little less opaque.

The Aftermath

After being convicted in court I was ordered to pay a fine and cover the court costs. Luckily my state doesn’t mandate jail time for first offenders, but I did have my license revoked for four months. At the end of the suspension period I had to pay the DMV a “re-issue” fee to get my license back. A further requirement after my driving suspension was that I had to attend (and pay for) DUI school. After paying my initial fine, court fees, probation fees, DUI course fees, and re-issue fees my monthly insurance premiums doubled. All told, it was the most expensive mistake I have ever made in my life.

Byline: Franklin Anderson used a trusted Houston DWI attorney when he got in trouble for drinking and driving.