How expensive is 1st DUI? I think I am going to hire Lil bean to be my driver when it is raining and I am drinking, otherwise I usually ride my motorcycle locally to bars.
I wanr to do a local TAN bar meet in Seal Beach maybe.
$250 towed truck
$1500 lawyer, though I've heard the trend these days is closer to $5,000
$2500 fine
$100 victims restitution fee
$100 MADD class
$440 alcohol classes/group therapy(could be more, up to the judge the length of the program)
$??? insurance. Varies. Mine went from about $100/mo to $450/mo the first year, has come down since
$100 DMV fee to get your license re-instated. It is suspended shortly after a DUI
arrest, min 30 days
$100 DMV fee license re-instated. Is is suspended again after the court conviction, but you can get it back right away
Your results may vary. I got through mine pretty easily, didn't screw anything up, made all my classes on time and kept my job that requires me to drive for a living. I did however have to take classes and tests for work that I had to pay for out of pocket here and there. I was on probation at work for 24 months and subject to random alcohol and drug testing. Yes, they randomly call you at any time and you have 1 hour to go to a clinic of their choice and take an alcohol and drug test. They do call at 6AM central, yes, 4AM here.
One of the guys in my class that was in the military had his last paygrade or pay raise taken away.
So for me, in the first year, a DUI cost me $8,690. And you know what they say about problems that you can write a check for.
A coworker of mine got a DUI about 3 months ago. His BAC was .230 Its pretty hard to get that high without dying. He had other drugs in his system as well. He was remanded into a 6 month program at additional costs, and 80 hours of community service on top of that.
Many of the guys in my classes had two or three drinks with dinner somewhere before driving home. They were then hit by another motorist. Every time they were charged with a DUI and found to be at fault in an accident that clearly was not their fault. One of they guys had a UPS truck run a red light and hit him, and numerous witnesses to it... Still his fault.
Those are pretty simple misdemeanor DUIs. Just a slap on the wrist, a hiccup in your life, and hopefully you can learn something from them.
But, you could just as easily end up my like my good buddy I went to highschool with. He got drunk, failed to stop at a red light, and rear ended a jeep. The Jeep hit a small pole that bent, and flipped the Jeep over. Both guys in the jeep were not wearing their seatbelts. One guy was thrown clear and killed when he hit the ground. The other guy wasn't so lucky. He was partly crushed by the jeep, and would have survived. But, the jeep caught on fire and he burned to death.
His parents sold their house to pay for his lawyer/court/jail fees. The lives of three young men have been lost.