My DUI Story
 

A few months ago, a friend and I have dinner and drinks at a sports bar near my house. We then go to a bar where his wife works, meet up with my wife, and continue drinking/chatting until closing time. We had about a 5 minute walk home but we were both hungry so we got in the car to go to steak and shake (horrible choice obviously). I probably had 7ish beers over the course of the night.

Immediately upon leaving I see the lights go on behind me. I pull over, license and registration, etc. I get the standard "have you been drinking?" I decline to respond. I am asked to do field sobriety tests, and I refuse those as well. The officer of course then asks if I am willing to take a breathalyzer and I say no to that too.

Then the cops (another car had shown up) start trying to scare me with all the penalties for not doing the tests, trying the "make it easy on yourself" line. They also try to get me talking by asking me questions like where were you going/coming from and where do you live. At this point I just stop talking completely and they handcuff me while still trying to threaten me into taking the tests. Get taken to the police station and eventually get released. I should say I was nice to the officers and responded with sirs and thank yous while not answering any of their questions.

The next week I got an attorney who is a former prosecutor who handles DUIs in my state. I had to go to an alcohol class that was actually kind of informative although I thought there was some overkill. A few weeks later I had my court date, at which the prosecutor agreed to reduce the charge to "failure to control." About a $250 fine and harsh penalties for any alcohol-related offenses in the next 6 months.

Re: My DUI Story
 

nice!

way to hold your ground. cops are masters at intimidation and getting people to do what they want. also masters at tripping people up on their story.

Re: My DUI Story
 

Riverman,

What maneuver caused him to pull you over in the first place? How impaired do you think you actually were? What was your total out-of-pocket including the lawyer, points on insurance, etc?

Re: My DUI Story
 

What you did is what any lawyer would tell their client to do.


How much did the lawyer end up costing?

Re: My DUI Story
 

The cop claimed I was swerving (not true), but I learned from the police report that a mall security guard (rent-a-cop) had called them when I left the bar. The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds, so I was far from hammered. I refused everything because I saw no benefit to providing them with evidence.

The attorney was a flat fee of $1500, plus about $500 in various fines/court costs. The offense I plead guilty to is a 2 point offense. My attorney said I had about a 90% chance of winning at trial, but the costs/risks of trial are huge so I took the deal.

Re: My DUI Story
 

Interesting story.

Is the same course of action reccomended for underage drivers who get pulled over after they've been drinking?
Obviously the first reccomendation would be "Don't", but assuming you get into that spot as a minor what do you do to minimize penalties?

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

Re: My DUI Story
 

HEY RIVERMAN YOU ARE A MENACE TO SOCIETY AND COULD HAVE KILLED MY DAUGHTER OR GRANDMA I THINK YOU SHOULD BE PUBLICLY EXECUTED!!!!!111!!!!!!11111!!!!

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
The cop claimed I was swerving (not true), but I learned from the police report that a mall security guard (rent-a-cop) had called them when I left the bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

i can understand you not wanting to cause a stink at your friend's wife's work, but have you considered calling the owner/manager and letting them know what happened? i imagine they would be concerned that a guard hired by them or their property manager is calling the police on their patrons.

tell them you unfortunately wont be drinking in their restaurant anymore since youre being watched and reported. i would imagine they would rather have the guard address the issue w/ the servers if the guard feels there's a problem.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

1. I disagree.

2. I should admit the majority (all the ones I had after dinner) were pints, so they were a bit larger than normal beers.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that didn't add up with me either.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
The cop claimed I was swerving (not true), but I learned from the police report that a mall security guard (rent-a-cop) had called them when I left the bar. The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds, so I was far from hammered. I refused everything because I saw no benefit to providing them with evidence.

The attorney was a flat fee of $1500, plus about $500 in various fines/court costs. The offense I plead guilty to is a 2 point offense. My attorney said I had about a 90% chance of winning at trial, but the costs/risks of trial are huge so I took the deal.

[/ QUOTE ]


was teh security guard hired by the bar? if so Id assume thats grounds for a huge lawsuit against the bar.

Re: My DUI Story
 

Enlighten us with the informative parts of the alcohol class please.

Re: My DUI Story
 

you handled the police situation well

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]


was teh security guard hired by the bar? if so Id assume thats grounds for a huge lawsuit against the bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

under what statute?

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


was teh security guard hired by the bar? if so Id assume thats grounds for a huge lawsuit against the bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

under what statute?

[/ QUOTE ]

dram shop laws and mental anguish? im really not sure, obv

Re: My DUI Story
 

hmm, I'm pretty sure the bartender can get nailed with a decent fine for serving someone who later gets charged with DUI (at least that's what my friend told me when he was tending). I don't know about the establishment itself as it's probably something to do with being responsible for stopping someone who is obviously drunk from driving at all.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
hmm, I'm pretty sure the bartender can get nailed with a decent fine for serving someone who later gets charged with DUI (at least that's what my friend told me when he was tending). I don't know about the establishment itself as it's probably something to do with being responsible for stopping someone who is obviously drunk from driving at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya, Im not sure really, it just seems completely ludicrous to me that the bar allowed this to happen, and allowed you to get in your car. seems like there is something fishy

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


was teh security guard hired by the bar? if so Id assume thats grounds for a huge lawsuit against the bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

under what statute?

[/ QUOTE ]

causes of action don't necessarily arise under a statute, but yeah I don't see a viable lawsuit here

Re: My DUI Story
 

Let's call it 7 pints, just because that's what you say. It was probably 8 or 9, but we'll go with your word...

7x16 is 112 ounces, so you were at 9 "standard" beers, almost 10.

You're an idiot for doing what you did, but you know that, and you're probably asking for those types of responses so you can show just how cool you are by talking down the cops when you were very likely (or at least possibly) at or over the legal limit.

So congrats. You did something stupid, know you did something stupid, and handled things well to avoid the possible punishment. I have to wonder though...if you "knew" you were under the legal limit, why did you refuse? That wasn't intimidation, that was you being stupid, but still lucid enough to talk your way out of trouble. On that count, at least, well played.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
That wasn't intimidation, that was you being stupid, but still lucid enough to talk your way out of trouble. On that count, at least, well played.

[/ QUOTE ]

In most states if you refuse the standard sobriety tests and breathalyzer you lose your license automatically. Even if you subsequently get found innocent of DUI you still lose your license for something like 6 months for refusing the tests.

Re: My DUI Story
 

So far I've gotten "you are an idiot for handling this the way you did because you weren't over" and "you're an idiot for driving when so drunk." I think OOT has had enough "OMG drunk driving you are horrible" posts. I was sharing my experience because this is a situation many people here seem to find themselves in, for better or worse.

Re: My DUI Story
 

There is an automatic license suspension, but that was dismissed in my case because the police officer did not list any probable cause for the stop on the ALS (administrative license suspension) form. I was therefore left with only the DUI charge. Regardless, the resolution of the DUI charge cancels any suspension that results from refusing the tests under the theory that being punished for both refusing and DUI would be double jepoardy.

Re: My DUI Story
 

Sweet. I know people that have gotten off the DUI but never had the suspension dropped. Well played... (Except for driving in the first place.)

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

Coming from someone who rarely drinks anymore (and also at about 215 pounds) I think this amount of alcohol has a good potential for making me blow over .08.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem with this is that at least in my state (FL) there is no onsite breathalyzer. In order to blow, you have to go to the station, and in order to go to the station, you have to be arrested. And once you're arrested, you're being booked on DUI ..REGARDLESS of what you blow. I don't know how this works in other states, but I have many friends in Florida who have been booked on DUI after blowing 0.00 and all of them had to spend cash on a lawyer to get the charges dropped. I'm not a fan of drunk driving, but I find this to be pretty ridiculous. I would never comply with either the field sobriety/breathalyzer in the state of Florida because once the cop has made HIS mind, that's all that matters as far as you getting charged with DUI.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


was teh security guard hired by the bar? if so Id assume thats grounds for a huge lawsuit against the bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

under what statute?

[/ QUOTE ]

dram shop laws and mental anguish? im really not sure, obv

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you at least explain your rationale as to why you see a huge lawsuit here? I can't fathom how you made this leap and am curious.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]



Can you at least explain your rationale as to why you see a huge lawsuit here? I can't fathom how you made this leap and am curious.

[/ QUOTE ]


if the guard is employed by the bar, calling the police is an acknowledgment that they knowing served him enough to impair him, did not cut him off or try and call him a cab.

Re: My DUI Story
 

Would it just be ridiculously dumb to do the field sobriety tests? Say you think your prob somewhat over the limit but able to perform the tests very well. If the cop knows youve been drinking will he just say u fail even if you do fine?

Re: My DUI Story
 

Pretty much everything they ask you to do or say is just to build a case against you.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
Would it just be ridiculously dumb to do the field sobriety tests? Say you think your prob somewhat over the limit but able to perform the tests very well. If the cop knows youve been drinking will he just say u fail even if you do fine?

[/ QUOTE ]

Once they think you have been drinking/you admit it, the tests will pretty much never result in "sorry for the trouble, drive safe!"

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
Would it just be ridiculously dumb to do the field sobriety tests? Say you think your prob somewhat over the limit but able to perform the tests very well. If the cop knows youve been drinking will he just say u fail even if you do fine?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been given a field sobriety test when I was pretty much dead sober (we're talking 2 beers over about a 5 hour period). It was still hard as hell to do sober and I was told I failed, even though I still don't know what I did that caused me to fail.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would it just be ridiculously dumb to do the field sobriety tests? Say you think your prob somewhat over the limit but able to perform the tests very well. If the cop knows youve been drinking will he just say u fail even if you do fine?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been given a field sobriety test when I was pretty much dead sober (we're talking 2 beers over about a 5 hour period). It was still hard as hell to do sober and I was told I failed, even though I still don't know what I did that caused me to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats kinda what i figured. What happened with that?

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

Coming from someone who rarely drinks anymore (and also at about 215 pounds) I think this amount of alcohol has a good potential for making me blow over .08.

[/ QUOTE ]

You'd have to have an extremely subpar liver for that to ever happen. Regardless, OP actually had 10 beers over a 5 hour period which is a huge difference from 7 because instead of MAYBE 1 or 2 in your system it's 4 or 5 which is obviously impaired (although you may not "feel" drunk if you drink that often). Either way, yeah OP you are cool for getting off. Congrats high five.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would it just be ridiculously dumb to do the field sobriety tests? Say you think your prob somewhat over the limit but able to perform the tests very well. If the cop knows youve been drinking will he just say u fail even if you do fine?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been given a field sobriety test when I was pretty much dead sober (we're talking 2 beers over about a 5 hour period). It was still hard as hell to do sober and I was told I failed, even though I still don't know what I did that caused me to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats kinda what i figured. What happened with that?

[/ QUOTE ]

They told me if I called someone to pick me up, they'd let me go home. So I called my roomie up and his father brought him so my roomie was able to drive my car home.

According to the police, I was drunk, which is why they wouldn't let me drive home. HOWEVER, after I called my roomie, they told me to get in my car and move it about 100 yards to a legal parking spot on the street. That was freakin great.

I should have slammed my car into a cop car and sued them for having me move my car when I was "drunk".

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
They told me if I called someone to pick me up, they'd let me go home. So I called my roomie up and his father brought him so my roomie was able to drive my car home.

According to the police, I was drunk, which is why they wouldn't let me drive home. HOWEVER, after I called my roomie, they told me to get in my car and move it about 100 yards to a legal parking spot on the street. That was freakin great.

I should have slammed my car into a cop car and sued them for having me move my car when I was "drunk".

[/ QUOTE ]

you should've told them to either arrest you for DUI or to F off. then go to the station and blow a .02 and hilarity ensues.

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 beers were over a good 5-6 hour period and I am 215 pounds

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is true than there is absolutely 0% chance you would blow over .05 let alone legal limit, which makes me think either you are lying about the particulars and/or completely retarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, way to spend 2 grand instead of 0

Re: My DUI Story
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They told me if I called someone to pick me up, they'd let me go home. So I called my roomie up and his father brought him so my roomie was able to drive my car home.

According to the police, I was drunk, which is why they wouldn't let me drive home. HOWEVER, after I called my roomie, they told me to get in my car and move it about 100 yards to a legal parking spot on the street. That was freakin great.

I should have slammed my car into a cop car and sued them for having me move my car when I was "drunk".

[/ QUOTE ]

you should've told them to either arrest you for DUI or to F off. then go to the station and blow a .02 and hilarity ensues.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was a donk for getting pulled over anyway. I was in a shopping center at 2AM to go to a McDonalds that was open 24/7. After waiting behind the same 4 cars for 20 minutes, I said eff it and left. I blew through a few stop signs in the parking lot since it's 2AM and there wasn't anyone around. This is why I got pulled over in the first place.

So in the end, the only thing that happened to me was I had to call someone to come get me. No DUI crap, no ticket for blowing through the stop signs, so I was just happy to get out of there clean.