Having a DUI charge is an extremely stressful period of time if a person at all experienced the situation. This article explains what stands for DUI, what follows after a DUI charge and the kind of consequences a person can expect.
DUI stand for driving when influenced by alcohol or drugs. It is most related to driving while intoxicated; however, some get behind the wheel after taking illicit drugs or prescription medicine. Although the acronym for driving under the influence of alcohol is DUI, some states use DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI. While the acronyms may differ slightly, they are all essentially a category of trying to operate a motor vehicle while being under the influence.
However, it is pivotal to point out that the punishments which you are likely to suffer should be convicted of the crime of DUI will depend on various factors. If it is your first time and nobody is injured, you are most probably going to be charged with a misdemeanor. Recurrent offenders attract even more severe punishments and the effects are long term in nature. They will receive a few months suspension of their license as a punishment and they also face a fine of anything between hundred and thousands of dollars. A DUI misdemeanor can involve the maximum of a year imprisonment besides probation for several years or involvement in community service, driving or substance abuse courses. They also need to let the court know if they want the installation of an ignition interlock system on their car for some time. Other effects are not necessary the fines or even the jail terms as you will be thinking. A DUI will affect ways of moving back and forth, to and from places of employment. In career fields where the nature involves driving, it means loss of wages and possibly losing your job.
You could become reliant on friends and relatives to drop you off at your job and be there to pick up your children from school. Also, one is likely to find that the car insurance costs are awaiting you as soon as you gain freedom to drive again. If you are found guilty of a DUI causing injury or death to another party then you might be taken to jail to serve a long time and also make monetary fines to the victim’s family. Just getting one DUI charge and one DUI conviction can dramatically alter your life in ways you may by no means have meant or wanted, and issues escalate.
Individuals are bound to slip and the consequences of a first time DUI are usually served in tandem with the belief that this should act as a deterrent for the offender. However, for those who can become habitual users of alcohol, there are reasonable grounds for considering multiple occurrences of DUI in future.