A DUI arrest was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I was out watching a football game at a sports bar with a couple of my buddies one night. We were drinking, but since I was there for a while, I figured I was spreading them out enough to where I wouldn't get drunk. On the way home, I got pulled over by a cop. He told me I had a burned out taillight, which I had known about but hadn't gotten around to fixing yet. While he was talking to me, he must have noticed I wasn't completely sober. He asked me if I had been drinking, and I admitted that I had a couple beers earlier. After failing a couple of the tests he gave me, I was arrested for suspicion of DUI. I was booked at the police station and given a blood test that showed I was almost twice the legal limit. Going through the legal system was horrible. Getting an attorney and taking time off work for court -- everything seemed like a constant reminder of how much I screwed up. I almost lost my job once they found out that I had a DUI arrest. I always used to look at people who got DUIs as bad people. But now I know that they're mostly people who just made a mistake. I can definitely say that it is a mistake that I will never make again. I was always a good kid. I studied, got good grades, and was active in sports and my community. But when I was 22, I made a mistake that has filled me with regret. I'm not a questions to ask your dui lawyer bad person, but I made a really bad decision. It was summer, and after getting off my job one night at a local restaurant, a couple of us decided to go out to the lake and drink. I remember it being a really beautiful night -- it was warm and clear, and we could see a million stars. We got a couple six packs of beer and sat around talking, losing track of time. When we left, I don't remember feeling drunk. Sure, I had a buzz going, but I didn't think it was enough to impact my driving. About a mile away from home, I saw the police lights in my mirror. At first, it didn't even occur to me that I was getting pulled over for drunk driving. But once the officer asked me to take a field sobriety test, I knew I was in trouble. When they gave me a breathalyzer test, I blew a .10. I was arrested on the spot for a DUI. The process of going to court and being convicted was one of the lowest points in my life. I was sentenced to community service, alcohol education classes, and I lost my license for one year, in addition to all the money I spent in legal fees and fines. Getting a DUI was a big wake-up call for me. I always considered myself responsible, and this single moment contradicts that. I realize now that I was way more intoxicated than I thought and that I'm very lucky I didn't injure anyone or worse. I got my DUI when I was 18. I had been at a party at my friend's house when her parents were out of town. I wasn't even planning on driving -- my boyfriend had taken me there and was going to get me home. I thought it was okay for me to drink at the party. We got separated, and I lost track of him throughout the night. I found him later passed out in one of the back bedrooms. I guess he had gotten drunk pretty quickly. A couple of guys helped get him into his car, and I decided I would drive him home. Big mistake. I wasn't that far down the road when I got pulled over. The cops said that I had crossed the center line twice. I knew I was drunk and probably shouldn't be driving, but it wasn't that far, and I thought I'd be okay. Now I know how lucky I was that I didn't kill anyone. Having to face my parents when they came to get me out of jail was the worst part. I had never seen them look so disappointed before. In some ways, knowing how badly I've hurt them has been worse than any punishment I could get from the court. Because I was underage when I got my DUI, the punishment was even worse. I spent several days in jail, got a lot of community service and huge fines that I had no way of paying since I was still in school. Thankfully, my parents helped me out, but it'll take a long time for me to pay them back. Even though I'm still not old enough to drink, I've already learned my lesson. I can't believe that I was so stupid to drink and drive. If one good thing has come from this, it has been that I'm an example to my friends of what can happen when you decide to get behind the wheel drunk. Hopefully I've prevented them from making the same mistake. You always think that DUIs are something that young people get. I always looked down on kids who go out and get completely drunk, then decide to get behind the wheel of a car. Then I got arrested for drunk driving when I was 53. I didn't realize that after three drinks, I was impaired enough to fail a sobriety test. I often went out for business meetings after work and would have a couple of drinks. I guess I never knew how much those drinks really impacted me. I was surprised when I saw the flashing lights but figured that perhaps I'd been speeding. The officer asked me if I had been drinking, and as I answered her, I could smell the alcohol on my own breath. Even then, I thought I was still below the limit. When my test came back at a .09, I was shocked. I didn't feel drunk. I was taken down to the station and booked. I called my attorney, who was able to bail me out. Telling my wife what had happened was hard. She was always on my case about driving after going to these business meetings, and now her worst fear had come true. Even though it's all behind me now, I will always have the stigma of being a drunk driver on my driving record. My insurance company dropped me when they found out about my DUI, and my new insurance company is charging me nearly double. I still attend these meetings for my line of work, but now I strictly drink sparkling water. I also make sure any associates I meet with have a safe way to get home. I never want anyone I know to have to go through what I did. It started out with just a couple glasses of wine. It was girl's night, and my friends and I had met up at a new wine bar we had been dying to try out. We were all relaxed and having a good time, and we decided it was still too early to call it a night. We moved on to a bar nearby, where a couple of us did a round of shots, followed by several cocktails. One of my friends started acting really drunk. She was clearly in no condition to drive, so I decided that I would take her home. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed that I was definitely not as sharp as I should be. I remember promising that if we got home safely, I would never drive like this again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I don't remember everything that happened leading up to the accident. I just remember there being a tree in front of the car suddenly and the impact of hitting it. The next thing I remember, there were paramedics helping us out of the car and the police were there taking our stories. Luckily, we were both wearing our seatbelts, so neither of us was badly injured. My friend cut her head on the windshield, and to this day, she has a small scar. It's a constant reminder of the danger I put us both in by driving drunk. I was arrested for DUI. The process of going to court was difficult. I lost my license for three years and spent several days in jail. My husband now drops me off and picks me up from work. I never realized how difficult it is to get around when you don't have a license. I understand now drinking under the influence penalties what a privilege driving is. While my DUI was a horrible mistake, it's been a blessing in that I now realize how even the smallest amount of alcohol is too much when getting behind the wheel. I now educate all of my friends and family so that I can spare them the trauma and the sadness that I've gone through.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2017
Categories |