Is a DUI a Felony?

DWI and DUI Laws are strictly enforced in the United States. Every state is coming down hard on drunk driving and the penalties for those caught are increasing. A generation ago drinking and driving was almost accepted as a part of life – especially out in the wilds and in remote country areas – but now things have changed.

So, why has drunk driving become such as big deal?  Quite simply because alcohol in the bloodstream dramatically impairs our ability to drive and people who drive drunk are far more likely to be involved in an accident than someone who is stone cold sober. A blood alcohol content of .04 for instance – around half of the US legal maximum for most drivers – increases the likelihood of your being involved in a car crash by very nearly 0ne-and-a-half times. And for every extra drink consumed, the odds of your being involved in that crash increase. Doubling the blood alcohol level to .08 (the legal limit in United States) increases your risk of being in a car crash to a massive eleven times more likely.

Although widely perceived as a stimulant, alcohol is actually a depressant and it works by slowing down the brain and dulling the senses. When you drink, some of the messages your body wants to send to your brain don’t get through. Your peripheral vision is shot to hell and your ability to judge distances very seriously impaired. Speed is impossible to judge and even traveling in a straight line without enormous concentration is impossible. Remind yourself how often you bump into door frames and people after just a couple of drinks and transfer that to what happens when you drive an automobile.

When you choose to drink and drive, you are not only putting yourself at risk, you’re also gambling with the lives of anyone who might be unfortunate enough to cross your path. This includes men, women, children, animals and loved ones. In the USA as a whole more young men between the ages of 17 and 24 die in automobile accidents than by any other means: and in nearly half the cases, alcohol has played a major part in their deaths. And they take thousands of innocent people with them.

No one in this accident had been drinking but if they had it would have been 11 times for likely to happen!

So before you jump in your automobile after stopping off at the bar after work, stop and think about what you are doing. How many drinks have you really had? Be honest with yourself and take into account the way alcohol tends to blur memories. Getting the figure wrong by even one glass could mean the difference between killing someone and not… between getting arrested for DUI and having your life ruined, or not.

If you do get arrested for DUI or DWI, you can expect to be fined at the very least. Possibly imprisoned and have your car taken away and sold and be banned from driving for a certain amount of time. All this could and might well happen, even if it is your first offense. If your job relies on a clean driving license or for you having no criminal record, then you are very likely to find yourself out of work. And once you get back in the driving seat you are going to find it very expensive to get yourself insured – if you can find any insurance company willing to do it at all.

My advice is: just don’t. Even if you avoid an accident (and if you do it often enough you WILL have an accident), then America’s DUI Laws mean that you are going to pay a heavy penalty if and when you are caught. If you have already been arrested and you are looking for advice, I urge you to get the best legal help you can afford… and resolve never to drink and drive again.