Trip Report - DUI
 

So last night I took off from work a little early with some friends to watch the 2nd half of the Laker game... great game, double OT... Lakers lost... oh well.

Had somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 drinks (I'm 5'10" 195 pounds). Pretty standard night... I drink socially about 2-3 times a week.

Left the bar at 10:57 (per our reciept) and realized I still had to finish up some paperwork.

Headed back to work till 12:30 and then headed home (10 minute drive max). Since I didn't feel messed up at all, and with the highway wide open... I got it up to about 85 mph on the 134 freeway.

As I'm pulling off the freeway at my exit... here comes CHP.

Lady officer takes my license and registration and says I was going about 90 mph and she is going to write me up for 80. NO PROB I'm thinking... $300, traffic school, and a little scar.

As she is having me sign the ticket and giving my license back. She asks if I've been drinking and says she can smell the beer.

I say yes, I had some beers in between a marathon work session and smoked a couple cigars.

GET OUT OF THE CAR...

I pass the first two field sobriety tests, which by the way, are SUPER HARD at 1am in the morning with a spotlight in your face even if you haven't had anything to drink.

She has me blow into the field tester 5 times and says "yep, got one"... 0.09%... the legal limit is 0.08% in CA.

Arrested on the spot, 10 hours in lock-up, three tickets (speeding, under the influence, and BAC)... looking at about $2,000 in fines and a suspended license.

Anyone have and suggestions? Anyone ever fight a DUI arrest and win?


*cliff-notes, 4 beers, two female lesbian CHP officers, DUI

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

no sympathy here sorry.

to be honest, since you went to your office, you may very well be fired if they catch wind.

not only did you break a very important law, but you put your company on the line for massive liability.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Are portable test able to hold up on court in California? I know in Illinois they aren't. They have to take you to the station and administer the breath test there even if they administered the portable test.

Also, if you only drank 4 to 5 beers there should be no way that your BAC is that high. It should be close to zero if you drank 5 beers within a five hour period.
Although I heard things like smoking bring up the levels in a BAC test.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

suggestions?

YEA DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE YOU'RE LUCKY YOU DIDN'T KILL SOMEONE

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

you broke the law.

you got caught.

you hate 'those bitch dikes'

ok. enjoy the fine and the suspended license!

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Good luck to you in court.

For an entertaining (and scary!) read, check this out.

http://www.drunkard.com/issues/08_02...hting_madd.htm

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are portable test able to hold up on court in California? I know in Illinois they aren't. They have to take you to the station and administer the breath test there even if they administered the portable test.

Also, if you only drank 4 to 5 beers there should be no way that your BAC is that high. It should be close to zero if you drank 5 beers within a five hour period.
Although I heard things like smoking bring up the levels in a BAC test.

[/ QUOTE ]

5 Gin and Tonics... Not beer.

Anyone else hear the deal about the smoking elavating your BAC??? I did smoke two super potent cigars.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are portable test able to hold up on court in California? I know in Illinois they aren't. They have to take you to the station and administer the breath test there even if they administered the portable test.

Also, if you only drank 4 to 5 beers there should be no way that your BAC is that high. It should be close to zero if you drank 5 beers within a five hour period.
Although I heard things like smoking bring up the levels in a BAC test.

[/ QUOTE ]


Dude, stop trying to make excuses out of it. You broke the law, and got caught. If you hadn't been speeding, you wouldn't have gotten caught at all. Deal with it.

5 Gin and Tonics... Not beer.

Anyone else hear the deal about the smoking elavating your BAC??? I did smoke two super potent cigars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Sucking it up and owning up to what you did is the right play here. Take it from someone who put up a .08 on the breathalyzer himself.

It's important to pull the positive out of this situation. It's a cheap lesson...learn it.

BTW, prepare for a whole slew of preachy uppity folks who will be all BAAAHHHHHHH...DUI = 666!!!!! U R A WASTE ON SOCIETY. NO DRIVING 24 HOURS AFTER YOUR LAST BEER. Be honest with yourself and internalize what you need to from these people.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

BB - drinking and driving is stupid. You know this, and deserved to get caught.

If the trooper made you blow 5 times, and you passed the field tests, you can try challenging the calibration. I have a friend who did this and got the DUI charge dropped in favor of reckless driving.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
no sympathy here sorry.

to be honest, since you went to your office, you may very well be fired if they catch wind.

not only did you break a very important law, but you but your company on the line for massive liability.

[/ QUOTE ]

A) Not interested nor was I looking for your sympathy

B) Not a chance I'll be fired for going into work at midnight to do MORE work

C) I don't see how I would open my employer up to liability

D) I agree it is an important law, but I don't think I was violating the "spirit" of the law. .08% is just a digit. At the time I was pulled over I wasn't driving suspiciously or dangerously. In fact, the cop was ready to let me go on the speeding ticket until she "smelled" something... my guess is that I smelled like a bar because of the two cigars... I was not in "bad shape" to drive, nor was I putting anyones life at risk.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

i don't understand the responses so far. why is everyone busting this guy's balls?

if you have 5 drinks over the course of a couple/few hours, by 90 minutes later you should be perfectly fine to drive. it seems like something must have been wrong with the breathalyzer reading. even if you didn't start drinking until 8PM, a .09 90 minutes after your 5th drink in 3 hours doesn't make sense...

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

www.duiblog.com. Its somewhere in there. I really don't feel like going through all of them. I'm sure you'll find it helpful

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Get an attorney. You can beat this easily.

And don't do the sobriety tests, ever.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
BB - drinking and driving is stupid. You know this, and deserved to get caught.

If the trooper made you blow 5 times, and you passed the field tests, you can try challenging the calibration. I have a friend who did this and got the DUI charge dropped in favor of reckless driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you ... this is what I was looking for.

Every degenerate on here is welcome to take the moral high ground and tell me what I "deserve".

I broke the law... fine... I'll pay the fees, jail time, whatever...

However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

BTW... for all of those that are taking the moral high ground... look in the mirror the next time you go 66mph and remember... you could have killed someone because you were operating a vehicle over the magic number of 65mph.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

I felt some sympathy until the "dikes" thing. Now I hope you rot.

Unrelated to this biatch's problem, .08 is retardedly low for the drunk driving standard. I am very against drunk driving. I am completely okay with not drunk driving. At .08, you are not drunk.

-bb (ducking the sure-to-be-coming knee-jerk flames).

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
B) Not a chance I'll be fired for going into work drunk at midnight to do MORE work

[/ QUOTE ]

orly?

[ QUOTE ]
C) I don't see how I would open my employer up to liability

[/ QUOTE ]

leave work drunk >> drive >>> accident >>>> death >>>>> questioning.

"where were you coming from tonight?"

"work"

>>>>>> civil law suit



[ QUOTE ]
D) I agree it is an important law, but I don't think I was violating the "spirit" of the law. .08% is just a digit.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are wrong.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, you did.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
BB - drinking and driving is stupid. You know this, and deserved to get caught.

If the trooper made you blow 5 times, and you passed the field tests, you can try challenging the calibration. I have a friend who did this and got the DUI charge dropped in favor of reckless driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you ... this is what I was looking for.

Every degenerate on here is welcome to take the moral high ground and tell me what I "deserve".

I broke the law... fine... I'll pay the fees, jail time, whatever...

However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

BTW... for all of those that are taking the moral high ground... look in the mirror the next time you go 66mph and remember... you could have killed someone because you were operating a vehicle over the magic number of 65mph.

[/ QUOTE ]

we have 70mph speed limits here.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
i don't understand the responses so far. why is everyone busting this guy's balls?

if you have 5 drinks over the course of a couple/few hours, by 90 minutes later you should be perfectly fine to drive. it seems like something must have been wrong with the breathalyzer reading. even if you didn't start drinking until 8PM, a .09 90 minutes after your 5th drink in 3 hours doesn't make sense...

[/ QUOTE ]

Time frame exactly... per reciepts...

started drinking 2nd half of the laker game - 6:20 or so...

5 drinks... left the bar (per reciept) 10:57...

pulled over and cited at 12:40... per speeding ticket...

taken to Glendale P.D. to blow on full machine... blew a 0.09% around 1:12 a.m.


A couple things that probably killed me... for those of you who are my "myspace" already know... I'm on a pretty crash diet for Cabo and I'm eating only salads and slim-fast for the last week to ten days + the two cigars. I'm sure this made the "affects" of alcohol WAY worse.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
Sucking it up and owning up to what you did is the right play here. Take it from someone who put up a .08 on the breathalyzer himself.

It's important to pull the positive out of this situation. It's a cheap lesson...learn it.

BTW, prepare for a whole slew of preachy uppity folks who will be all BAAAHHHHHHH...DUI = 666!!!!! U R A WASTE ON SOCIETY. NO DRIVING 24 HOURS AFTER YOUR LAST BEER. Be honest with yourself and internalize what you need to from these people.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd be interested to hear about this Doug. You kinda stopped posting after it happened (I think that was the death of your contest with Justin).

My sister's experiences with a DUI were pretty [censored]. 2 years of probation, mandatory AA and an ignition interlock device in her car.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
BB - drinking and driving is stupid. You know this, and deserved to get caught.

If the trooper made you blow 5 times, and you passed the field tests, you can try challenging the calibration. I have a friend who did this and got the DUI charge dropped in favor of reckless driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you ... this is what I was looking for.

Every degenerate on here is welcome to take the moral high ground and tell me what I "deserve".

I broke the law... fine... I'll pay the fees, jail time, whatever...

However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

BTW... for all of those that are taking the moral high ground... look in the mirror the next time you go 66mph and remember... you could have killed someone because you were operating a vehicle over the magic number of 65mph.

[/ QUOTE ]

we have 70mph speed limits here.

[/ QUOTE ]

71mph- re-quote [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

LOL, [censored]. You got what you deserved.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
Get an attorney. You can beat this easily.


[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, you did.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not more so than if I was speeding (sober), making a rolling stop at a stop sign, or changing lanes without using my blinker.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Get a criminal defense attorney in the county you were ticketed, who handles DUI cases. Make sure the attorney is excellent. Do you know any career criminals ( yes, I am serious)? If so, ask them for a referral.

As with most any crime, if you know the right attorney to hire, you can get your charges knocked down or out.

Even though you're an idiot for drinking and driving, getting these charges knocked down needs to be your primary focus. F-all these clowns telling you to suck it up and take your punishment. Do everything you can to keep yourself out of the criminal justice system (no greater oxymoron exists).

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
Get an attorney. You can beat this easily.

And don't do the sobriety tests, ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is good advice. I would not be surprised at all if you were able to plea this down.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Hire an attorney that regularly does DUIs in the county where you got the ticket. It will probably cost some $$$ but it increases your chances of getting off considerably. Make sure you ask them if they do these kind of things and their relationship with the prosecutors, cops and judge. Ask friends if they know anyone that does this and go from there. If Cali works like Illinois this is the key to getting off.

Good luck.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
I felt some sympathy until the "dikes" thing. Now I hope you rot.

Unrelated to this biatch's problem, .08 is retardedly low for the drunk driving standard. I am very against drunk driving. I am completely okay with not drunk driving. At .08, you are not drunk.

-bb (ducking the sure-to-be-coming knee-jerk flames).

[/ QUOTE ]

Post adjusted based on your request [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

BTW... in CA the legal limit used to be .10%... then it was changed due to some heavy MADD petitioning. There was very little scientific evidence that the difference between 0.08 and 0.10 was the deal-breaker and/or the cause of more accidents / fatalities... but Pete Wilson needed some SIG's on his side and MADD was huge in CA for a long time.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
Good luck to you in court.

For an entertaining (and scary!) read, check this out.

http://www.drunkard.com/issues/08_02...hting_madd.htm

[/ QUOTE ]
Read this a long time ago, and read it again today. It should be mandatory reading for the self-righteous a-holes in this thread like Bi-h00r. 0.09 isn't drunk, wasn't until recently even illegal, it's a bunch of crap and some people are too busy preaching to OP to acknowledge this obvious fact.

BTW, my favorite part of that story (taking it as fact) is where the founder of MADD was kicked to the curb because she believed in focusing on the trouble drivers and repeat offenders rather than lesser or non-threats.

To all the preachers in this thread, I hope you get pulled over for a 0.08 in the near future and find out for yourself what a crock of sh*t it is. That'll knock you off your high horse.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
However, I know in my heart of hearts that I didn't "endanger" anyone.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, you did.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not more so than if I was speeding (sober), making a rolling stop at a stop sign, or changing lanes without using my blinker.

[/ QUOTE ]The thing is, you can adjust your speed if the situation calls for it, stop at the stop sign if necessary, and use the blinker if there is other traffic. You can't immdiately change your alcohol level at the moment the situation asks for it (= in case an unexpected faaaaast reaction is necessary).

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Get an attorney. You can beat this easily.

And don't do the sobriety tests, ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is good advice. I would not be surprised at all if you were able to plea this down.

[/ QUOTE ]

so you guys think with a good lawyer I could get it dropped to wreckless driving?

It was my first ever offense / arrest and I'm a pretty upstanding member of the communinty + ex-military.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Stay away from mixed drinks altogether. They are almost always overpoured.

If you had drank 5 beers, you'd probably not be in the same boat even though technically 1 drink = 1 drink.

Sucks though, sounds like you at least thought you were doing the responsible thing. I could definitely see myself starting to drink at 6pm, having 3-5 drinks and feeling fine to drive at 10-11pm. It's all kind of misleading.

This is why I take my friends out, pay for pool, the 2 beers they can drink, food, but make them drive... then I can get SMASSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHED. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Best of luck man. Lots of haters here.

I'm against drunk driving as much as the next person, but this seems like a position that half of us could find ourselves in, even being aware of doing "the right thing" when it comes to responsible alcohol consumption.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

I'm always shocked that so many people actualy agree to take the field sobriety test. If there's any chance that you'll be over the limit DON'T BLOW. Let them take you in and use the tester at the police station. Also call a lawyer before you blow, this wastes more time for you to sober up while you wait for him to get there.

It's to late for this though, and it would have saved you a lot of trouble. Now the only thing you can do is hope a lawyer gets you off.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

See my post above and Tony Danza. Make sure you get a very good attorney. There is no way you can't get this knocked down if you are 1'st offender.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

I know of several people who have got their first DUI and not a single one ever served jailtime (this is in PA). One had his license suspended for 2 months while the others just had to pay various fines.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm always shocked that so many people actualy agree to take the field sobriety test. If there's any chance that you'll be over the limit DON'T BLOW. Let them take you in and use the tester at the police station. Also call a lawyer before you blow, this wastes more time for you to sober up while you wait for him to get there.

It's to late for this though, and it would have saved you a lot of trouble. Now the only thing you can do is hope a lawyer gets you off.

[/ QUOTE ]

in colorado, refusal to blow is an automatic 1 year suspension of your license. and there is no way around this.

it''s almost always better to blow here.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

I'm pretty sure the portable breathalyzer machines aren't admissible in court.

I think with a good attorney you'll have a strong chance of getting off here with some kind of plea bargain.

I really don't understand why anyone would take the field sobriety tests. They are basically designed to make you fail.

Here are my plans if I ever get pulled over:

(1) If I'm totally slaughtered, I'll just deny ALL tests and get a good attorney who can hopefully get me off on a technicality. I would refuse to blow on even the machine at the station.

(2) If I'm on the edge, I'd definitely refuse the field sobriety tests and the portable test to buy some time. The real question is - should I blow at the station if I think I'll blow around a .08-.10? Or flat out refuse?

(3) I will keep my damn mouth shut except for, "Yes", "No", "I'd like an attorney NOW.".

Anyone know if you're better off blowing a low number on the real machine, or just refusing flat out?

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

Get a lawyer and beat this BS. Did you get a blood alcohol test? You should have. Anyway, the fact that the "cop" (lol women police officers) made you blow into the breathalyzer 5 times is going to help you out, I think. This means you blew 4 0.08s and 1 0.09.

And to all those people saying "OP is an idiot and got what he deserved": He passed the sobriety tests, so he wasn't impaired. Having a blood alcohol level of around 0.1 doesn't increase your chances of getting into an accident any more than fiddling with the radio.

You are an idiot for driving 90, though. Good luck.

Re: Trip Report - DUI
 

[ QUOTE ]

Best of luck man. Lots of haters here.

I'm against drunk driving as much as the next person, but this seems like a position that half of us could find ourselves in, even being aware of doing "the right thing" when it comes to responsible alcohol consumption .

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah... this is what really sucks... I'm usually the one taking peoples keys aways, driving them from the Bike back to Irvine and then all the way back to LA cause they drank to much... I'm that guy. And even though I thought I was good to drive the second I left the bar, I still went back to work and did a couple hours of paper-work before driving.