Barbara Sadler: Do You Always Lose Your License After A DUI?

DUI is the abbreviation used for the term Driving Under Influence. It is sometimes also called DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). It is the act of driving the motorized vehicle during or after the consumption of alcohol or drug or both.

DUI is a criminal offense in many countries and the person can be charged high fines or imprisonment for this crime. A driver has to lose his license for a specific time period or permanently depending on the severe-ness of the crime.

A DUI offense is considered as serious as any other criminal offenses in the United States. Those who get DUI have to face many consequences that a DUI can pose. The consequences can be both short term and long term affecting your work life as well as your personal life. This article explains how DUI affects your life detailing both the aspects of your life.

DUI Work And Life

A DUI can affect your work life to a great extent. You will lose your existing job as well as find difficult to get a new job. You may inevitably need to disclose your DUI to your current boss since you are required to attend court-ordered alcohol education classes and community services around your working hours. This leads to loss of job and as a result loss of income no matter how proficient you are at work. You may also find difficult to get a new job despite being highly qualified for the position since every employer requires a criminal background check.

Also, due to license suspension after DUI arrest, you may find difficult to drive to work. And if you are in a job that requires you to drive, you may lose your job.

DUI Affects Your Personal Life

Another main area of DUI can affect greatly is your personal life. It could affect your family, financial situation, transportation, car insurance, and rental transactions. Below we will see how DUI affects each area of your personal life.

Getting a DUI not only affects you but your family as well. Most states publicize DUI arrests. This can cause embarrassment for both you and your family in front of your friends, coworkers and neighbors.

DUI can be very expensive and it varies from state to state. DUI could cost you roughly $10000. This includes fines, legal fees, car insurance, license reinstatement fee, bail, alcohol evaluation, and other miscellaneous fees. Besides this, you would also incur a loss of income due to loss of job. Hence one may suffer financially after getting a DUI.

After getting arrested for DUI, your driver’s license is immediately suspended. As a result, you may need to opt for public transportation or depend on your friends or family members for rides. It can be frustrating for you and a burden for them.

A DUI conviction will skyrocket your car insurance rates. It also affects your life insurance premiums.

Like employment, you will find difficult to get a rental house since landlords require a background check. You would also be denied for renting vehicles.

Expunge your DUI record “completely” with the help of DUI Process Manual. It offers little-known strategies to clear your DUI record completely and pass employment background checks in a step-by-step approach. Especially, this strategy is helpful if your state (US) does not allow formal expungement.

Getting caught driving drunk is serious business in most states. Some states are more lenient while others are very harsh. – Like Utah for example. Once you are convicted of a DUI in Utah, it’s there for 75 years. You can’t seal the record and you can’t have it expunged. This can impact your life in multiple ways, and for the worst. Also, the legal implications of a DUI charge can be a nightmare.
Below are some of the possible penalties you may face for a DUI. Also below are the ramifications of a DUI conviction as it relates to your personal life.

DUI License Suspension

License suspension will vary from state to state and depend on past offenses. – But just for a first offense, if you get convicted of DUI in Utah, you will have your license suspended for 6 months. If you get convicted of drunk driving in Alabama for the first time, you will lose your license for 90 days. – And get this, just your first DUI offense in Utah, you can expect a license suspension of 1 year.

A drunk driving conviction is bad all the way around and paying hefty fines is just another part of the many penalties. You can pay as little as $100 for your first DUI offense in states like Virginia, but in states like Utah, you can pay $500 to $1000 for your first offense with these numbers increasing after each offense. Add in the potential loss of employment, attorney’s fees and court costs and your bank account are going to take a beating.

DUI Car Impoundment

Even if you do get to keep your job, how are you going to get there without a car and without a vehicle? Having your car impounded will be another inconvenience for you and your family. It will also mean having to spend even more money to get to work. That is unless you have a friend that likes you enough to carry you back and forth every single day.

DUI Community Service

This DUI penalty will give you the opportunity to impress friends and family. No, not really, your community service may actually involve you picking up trash on the highway. Not glamorous, not fun, but undoubtedly humbling and a great opportunity for a person to think about their DUI.

DUI School

You will also probably get another chance to go to school, but not to party down at some cool college. You will have to go to DUI School.
Interlocking Device Installment
In order to earn this penalty, you were either really drunk at the time of your arrest or you have multiple offenses. An interlocking device is placed on your car’s ignition and will not allow you to crank the car unless you are sober.

DUI Probation

Yes. It’s true. Getting a DUI may land you on probation. You will have to meet with your new friend, a probation officer, regularly. – And be sure not to miss an appointment.

DUI Jail Time

Nobody wants to end up in jail, but depending on the circumstances of your DUI, you could do jail time. This is definitely one of the worst DUI penalties in my opinion.

Not only will you pay fines, lose your license, go to DUI school, etc., but a DUI will impact your life in many other ways as well. You will carry around the DUI stigma. You may lose your job. Your car insurance will definitely go up. Your credit may be hurt and depending on the circumstances of your case, you may lose your right to own a firearm.
The person is considered drunk when his BAC count is above 0.08. The penalties for DUI charge can vary from state to state. The period of suspension of the license of the driver can vary depending on the percentage of the BAC count, the state in which you live and the severe-ness of the crime. The BAC limit of 0.08 is the same for all countries.

How Long Will I Lose My License?

The charges for the DUI can be as follows:
• Imprisonment: Maximum of 6 months
• License suspension for 12 months if BAC count is within the range of 0.08 to 0.15
• License suspension for 18 months if BAC count is within the range of 0.15 to 0.19
• License suspension for 24 months if BAC count is greater than 0.20
• Fine can be charged ranging from $500 to $1500
The length of the suspension of the license can vary depending on the charges. It can be increased from the above mention period in some cases. In some states, license suspension is obligatory if the driver refuses for the breath analyzer test.

If you possess the commercial driver’s license, you may face additional suspensions for the charge of drunk driving. All countries have made it mandatory to suspend the license of the driver found guilty under DUI charge. Typically, the suspension period can vary from 30 days to one year if you are charged the first time for DUI.

The Rules Revocation of License under DUI Charge:
• First DUI conviction results in license cancellation for 1 year
• Second DUI conviction results in license cancellation for 5 years
• Third DUI conviction results in license cancellation for 10 years
• Fourth DUI conviction results in license cancellation for lifetime
Your license can also be revoked for the first DUI conviction in some countries. It can also be canceled if you refuse for the chemical test after your arrest. Repeated convictions can lead to the revocation for long term or lifetime. It is also possible to reduce the period of your license suspension or complete dismissal of your revocation, but the sudden action is needed to check these options. You can consult with your lawyer for these options. Your lawyer should request a DMV hearing within 10 days of completion of your hearing. Failing to do this can leave you without any further options.

It is not that you will lose your license if you are charged for DUI. There are various ways where you can defend against these charges. You can consult with your attorney for the substitute ways.

You probably know, that if you have been charged with a DUI, you are the midst of some serious business, with serious consequences. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a dangerous criminal act. Driving under the influence is a severe crime in every state. For this reason, you don’t want to try to defend yourself. Also, for this reason, you definitely should not throw in the towel and just plead guilty to get it over with.
A DUI lawyer can be of huge help and benefit to you. DUI lawyers know much about how the court system operates and are also up to date on new laws and regulations. This will benefit you much more than if you were to try to defend yourself and clear up your record on your own. And, no matter how guilty you may feel about what has happened, it may definitely benefit you more than if you simply pleaded guilty. Certainly, hiring a good DUI lawyer is absolutely your best decision and ought to be your first move.
The law is a large and complicated beast with many, many heads. Not every lawyer has the same training, education, and experience to handle all types of cases.

A given lawyer will have more knowledge and experience in one area than in another, so your choice of which type of lawyer to hire is very important. Using a DUI attorney or DUI Lawyer who focuses on drunk driving defense could make a big difference in the outcome of your case.

Also consider that there are many specialized DUI lawyers out there, and it makes a difference which one you ultimately choose to work with. Just as in any field, simply put, some DUI lawyers are much better and more experienced at what they do than others. DUI lawyers and their fees vary depending on the skill and experience of the attorney as well as the complexity of your DUI case. For example, many attorneys claim to be DUI defense lawyers, but they simply handle guilty pleas! Because of the seriousness of the crime and the lasting consequences that are often the result of a DUI, it is probably worth every penny and every minute to meet and work with a DUI lawyer who can do the most for you by virtue of their experience and track record.

Frankly, you need a lawyer who focuses on DUI with expertise tackling cases the same as yours – with positive results. You want to understand how many DUI trials has the lawyer handled in the last year. (You got to understand this figure to make sure that your lawyer has the power to defend you just in case your DUI suit goes to trial.) The more cases of DUI the lawyer has handled, the more competent he or she is probably going to be in DUI defense. Even more so, the more expertise the lawyer has with cases very similar to yours, the more he or she is probably going to be ready to give you with the most effective advantage, increasing your probabilities of success, with or without a trial.

The penalties in drunk driving cases are very difficult. You can potentially lose your driving privileges and in extreme cases might face jail time or maybe jail. On the opposite hand, bear in mind DUI cases conjointly get dismissed, DUI charges get reduced, DUI punishments get reduced, and people are found clean-handed on a consistent basis by DUI lawyers who investigate and who have the required knowledge and skill. (This, however, is not always the case. If the DUI causes injury or property damage and in cases where the DUI is not a first offense- the DUI charge can become and be treated as a felony. But remember, many cases of DUI/DWI also get dismissed on simple technicalities with the help of experienced DWI lawyers.

The DUI lawyer’s help is also very important during pre-trial conferences (the negotiations before an actual trial is set). They will research and use any technical defects they find to build a strong defense, in preparation for either settlement or trial. The last step in the court process is an actual criminal trial. Finally, if a trial has been set, the DUI lawyer will participate in the juror selection and naturally, stand for and defend you during the actual trial. Of course, a great many cases are resolved before they go all the way to trial.

Yes, if the DUI case you’re facing is complicated and there is a strong possibility that your case will actually go to trial, then your attorney’s quote (cost estimate) can go up to as high as $10,000 or even more. But, don’t give up just because your situation will have a cost. The alternative also comes at a cost.

Remember that if you do go to trial, the prosecution must do more than prove you “may be guilty” – they must prove that your guilt is the only reasonable conclusion based on hard evidence. So if you’re facing a DUI charge, don’t just throw up your hands and say, “Oh well, I might as well plead guilty. Remember, if you don’t seek professional DUI lawyers to protect your rights, you may face jail time.