Drinking and driving is not only a safety issue, it’s a financial one. Just ask anyone you know who has been arrested and convicted how it has changed what they pay for insurance alone.
Indeed, if you are convicted of drinking and driving it will cost you roughly $10,000 or more in fines, fees, insurance and more. Repeat drunken drivers face even higher fees. This doesn’t include the loss of wages if you are sent to jail or cannot work because you have lost your driver’s license. The maximum penalties for a misdemeanor first DUI conviction in California are 6 months imprisonment in the county jail and a 6 month license suspension. If a driver’s blood alcohol level is 0.15% or more it’s 10 months in jail.
List of fees a DUI driver faces:
- $150 licensing fees
- $250 Ignition Interlock Device
- $100 to $1,000 Vehicle Tow and Impound
- $150 to $2,000 bail
- $500 to $2,000 insurance deductible if there is a collision
- $1,000 fine
- $1,000 alcohol treatment plans
- $2,500 DUI attorney
- $2,600 in penalty assessments
- $5,000+ higher insurance payments
There’s really no upside to drinking and driving, but the downsides are not only financial. Roughly 10,000 people die in alcohol-related crashes and thousands more are injured including some with permanent disabilities. The people who are hurt are often friends and family members of the drunk driver or the driver themselves.
Alcohol reduces brain function:
- Impairs thinking
- Diminished reasoning
- Muscle coordination reduced
- Speech is slurred
- Coordination slows down
- Focus, fuzzy vision
- Sleepiness
- Loss of balance
Your Body and Alcohol
There are negative effects on the body’s central nervous system. The alcohol gets absorbed through the walls of the stomach and small intestine on its way into the blood stream. The liver will metabolize the alcohol.
What is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)?
The amount of alcohol a person a person consumes can be measured by the weight of the alcohol in a specific volume of blood. So a blood sample is taken from a suspected drunken driver and the concentration of alcohol weighed in grams per deciliter of blood will determine how intoxicated the person is.
Drunk Driving Laws
It is illegal to drive drunk (0.08 BAC or more) in all 50 states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Help for Families
The staff at Johnson Attorneys Group provides individuals and families with legal support at the worst possible time in their lives. We understand that a serious traffic accident can cause horrible pain and suffering as well as financial distress.
When you are ready to move forward with a claim, our compassionate attorneys are here to help you obtain full compensation for all your losses.
We advise you there are time limits to filing a claim and you should wait before you speak to the negligent party’s insurance company until after you have spoken to an attorney. Johnson Attorneys Group offers a free consultation at 800-235-6801. We also work on a contingency-fee basis so you will pay nothing unless a settlement is obtained.
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