Drunk Driving Facts, Consequences, & DUI Prevention Resources

Seeking counseling (which may be a mandatory part of your DUI sentence) can help you cut back on or quit drinking and offer strategies for coping with the emotional trauma that can accompany a DUI. In some states, if you refuse to take the field sobriety test or submit to a breathalyzer or blood test, your driver’s license is suspended immediately, even before you go to court. It’s pretty common for people to experience depression and anxiety after a first-time DUI. But getting a DUI may result in a host of emotions—including sadness, anger, guilt, and shame. Here we take a look at what happens when you get a DUI and what you need to know to ensure you get the help you need. Research shows that the more complex a task is, the more alcohol slows reaction time.

DUI and Loss of Child Custody

When coordination, steering, braking, and correct lane position are limited, intoxicated drivers are a safety hazard for themselves and others. Alcohol impairs vision, reaction time, coordination, and judgment, all of which are essential to safe driving. It’s also linked to aggression, meaning it can fuel road rage incidents. DUI penalties are daunting and can affect a person’s career opportunities and personal life. However, most states have programs available—such as diversions and first-offender programs—that can lessen the impact of a DUI arrest.

Getting Help to Prevent Future DUI Charges

Inhibitions lower, and the ability to respond to situations, such as unexpected vehicles or objects on the road, becomes more difficult. A trained counselor will evaluate your pattern of alcohol consumption to determine if you have an alcohol use disorder. Typically, the evaluator will ask you a series of questions about how alcohol affects your life. For repeat offenders, jail is mandatory in most states and the terms are longer than a couple of days. Even if you are not sentenced to any jail time for your DUI conviction, you will probably be given a probation sentence, the terms of which are determined by the sentencing judge. If you fail to meet the terms of probation, you can be sent to jail.

Drive Sober This Labor Day, and Every Day

If the DUI occurs while on the job, it can also be construed as gross misconduct, and the employee may lose the right to state unemployment insurance. As these individuals hold commercial driving licenses, the issuing agency may initiate an administrative process (separate from the criminal process) to revoke the individual’s commercial license. The loss of the license extends beyond the drinking and driving consequences specific job and, in effect, revokes the privilege of being employed anywhere that the commercial license is required—at least temporarily.

Opt to use a rideshare app, grab a taxi, hop on public transportation, walk if it’s safe to do so, or appoint a reliable designated driver. Staying overnight at a friend’s house or in a hotel may also be an option on certain occasions. For example, out of any U.S. state, Montana has the highest percentage of rural residents. And it has a rate three times the national average of young adults killed in alcohol-related crashes.

Operating a vehicle while under this level of BAC is incredibly dangerous. A person is 380 times more likely to be in a fatal crash at .15 BAC than when sober. The drinker will be sloppy, have difficulty standing up, may become dizzy, and begin to vomit. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.

Stay committed to your treatment plan, attend appointments and meetings regularly, and reach out for help when needed. Talk to a trusted friend, family member, or healthcare professional about your concerns and ask for their support in finding treatment options. Your primary care doctor is a good place to start, as they’ll consider your overall health and needs in recommending treatment paths. If you have even the slightest concern that you may be alcohol-impaired, it’s just better to call an Uber or hand your keys off to a designated driver. During driving, the device may also require additional samples to continue driving.

Eye detection for a real-time vehicle driver fatigue monitoring system

• The greater the alcohol consumption, the more likely it is for vision to be impaired.
• Today, alcohol impaired drivers are still responsible for nearly 30 percent of motor vehicle deaths (3).
• A DUI occurs when a person operates a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and is arrested by a law enforcement officer.
• The effects of alcohol abuse vary greatly, putting you at risk for causing an accident or highway injury.

Even taking the lowest figure for each of these costs, a DUI conviction could set you back around $6,000. In DUI cases that incur higher costs, you could be looking at financial losses in excess of $20,000. Keep in mind that we are talking about first-time offenses here; for second and third offenses, the cost of a DUI conviction is likely to be at least double that figure.

• The laws in many states give judges the option of placing an underage DUI offender on probation for up to a year.
• The higher the resulting number, the more likely the person is suffering impairments that make them a danger to themselves and others on the road.
• The court, based in part on the counselor’s recommendations, can refer the convicted driver to a host of different types of programs, ranging from outpatient programs to inpatient treatment.
• Calls to any general helpline will be received by Pinnacle Health Group or Still Behavioral Health Group, both of whom are paid advertisers.
• At this point, limited coordination and balance make it difficult to maintain a safe position in your lane.
• Seeking counseling (which may be a mandatory part of your DUI sentence) can help you cut back on or quit drinking and offer strategies for coping with the emotional trauma that can accompany a DUI.

Why do people drive drunk?

Participants in the Montana study say leaving a car could “result in judgment or damage to one’s reputation” (9). At the heart of many decisions to drive drunk is the concern of how to get from point A to point B. But people who live in rural areas often don’t have access to these alternative modes of transportation. Even following that guide, you could still end up with a BAC over the legal limit. That’s because the alcohol metabolism rate can vary from person to person and setting to setting, depending on many factors (7).

Combined effects of alcohol and distraction on driving performance

There are also mutual support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous that can help those suffering from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and those who have multiple DUIs stay sober. There are both inpatient and outpatient programs for treating an addiction to alcohol as well as alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which comes from long-term alcohol use and dependency. Usually, you will be required to carry this type of auto insurance for a period of three years. In today’s courts, if you deny the charges, plead not guilty, and try to fight the case, chances are you (and everyone else in the courtroom) will see a video of you failing field sobriety tests. This footage can be taken from the officer’s dashboard camera or from the jail where you were processed.