DUI - A trip report

[HitHard69]

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hithard,

How did your friend die?

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I'd rather not go into the details, but he was 20 years old and it was very sudden.

[guids]

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BTW, two examples to back up his point: a couple of times when I was living in a nice part of town, I was pulled over late at night for no reason at all. Well, they made up a completely BS reason for doing so - one time it was swerving (I wasn't, the cop and I were the only two on the road so I was driving super straight) and the other was for running a stop sign (another flat-out lie, I saw the cop driving around aimlessly, just he and I on the road, and made it a point to make a deliberate stop). One time was particularly LOL because I had my wallet stolen a week or so prior so couldn't prove who I was, and also didn't have license or proof of registration on me for some reason, and yet he still let me go as he could tell I hadn't been drinking.

Both of those happened nearly 15 years ago. I shudder to think of how aggressive they are now.

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but you had been drinking correct? its not liek the falsified reports or something? the key to the equations is to NOT drive if you are going to drink, did i not make that clear?

[tuq]

guids,

In each instance I was stone cold sober. No drinks that night. That's my point. If I'd had a beer six hours earlier it coulda been brought against me, had I answered honestly.

While MADD and lawyers are steamrolling your rights, we should be paying more attention to things like due process and legal limit, but it's really hard for a politician to politic on the platform of easing the legal limit.

[[Phill]]

I dont know if anyone has said this yet, but i hope OP gets run over by a drunk driver tomorrow.

Karmic ironic justice.

(Note, i only hope he is paralysed from the neck downward and so cant drive ever again, not that he dies. That would be harsh)

[mikecrooks]

NEVER ADMIT TO DRINKING 1 DROP OF ALCOHOL AT ALL!!!!!!

This will help you in no way. The police are not going to let you go for being honest. If you say I had 1 half a beer 15 hours ago your going to get a sobriety test.

There is no passing a sobriety test. They only test that matters is the eye test and there is no faking that. The walkin crap is nonsense.

You may say "hey they smelled the alcohol I was screwed anyway" This may be true, but you would be suprised the situations you can get out of if you just stick to your guns and deny deny deny deny. If they do test you anyway telling them that you drank will not help you so dont do it.

IF YOU ADMIT TO DRINKING AT ALL THEY WILL AUTOMATICLY PULL YOU OUT OF YOUR CAR AND TEST YOU. NEVER ADMIT TO SUCH NONSENSE.

[mikecrooks]

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ANYBODY that DRINKS has a ticket to the same "penalty lottery" the OP just won. His number just happened to come up. To prevent a DUI stop drinking, not stop drinking and driving but stop drinking altogether. Thats the only way you can say that you will "never" get a DUI.

The fact is once the cop smelled alcohol the OP was under arrest. The field sobriety test was done not to determine IF he was going to be arrested but WHEN he would be arrested.

The DUI laws change every year, usually becoming more punitive. The courts are jammed with other issues and have made it as sweet as possible for a 1st time DUI arrest to plead "no contest" as oppsed to going to trial.

The theory of refusing the breath test is proffered by attorneys who have a vested finacial interest in contesting the arrest. An attorney can't "get you off", they look for procedural mistakes made by the arresting officer and try to get the whole arrest voided. Cops are trained not to make procedural mistakes. The chances of getting the case thrown out on a technicality is remote. Think of all the famous people this year alone who have gotten DUI's, did they get off? Could you?

The end all be all that I'm trying to say is obviously, don't drink and drive. But if you have any semblance of a social life chances are that you will drink and drive at some point. If you get pulled over you're probably going to get arrested. The system is set up so that you do not contest the arrest in court by offering you a "no contest" plea", fines and classes.

The only thing you can do for yourself is mitigate the loss of license time once arrested. You're basically screwed on the legal end. Mitigating the loss of license time is done by TAKING the breath test. Your suspension time will be reduced and who knows, you might just pass.

BTW, I'm gearing this towards the first time offender who did not hurt anyone. First timers get a slap on the wrist, the hammer is reserved for your second offense.

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If you dont drive how are you going to get a DUI? This is the stupidest statement I have ever heard. Plenty of people drink and do not drive. WTF are you talking about?

[HitHard69]

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I dont know if anyone has said this yet, but i hope OP gets run over by a drunk driver tomorrow.

Karmic ironic justice.

(Note, i only hope he is paralysed from the neck downward and so cant drive ever again, not that he dies. That would be harsh)

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Thanks man... appreciate it. You really have no idea how terrible I feel about what I did. I don't look at this as "Hey, I drove drunk and only got a fine." I look at this as "Oh Jesus, I [censored] up... I could have really killed myself or someone else."

True story... I went out and found the officer who arrested me today so I could apologize to him for what I did. I actually thanked him for being there and doing what he did because he very well could have saved me from doing some serious damage to myself or someone else. He accepted my apology and wished me the best. We shook hands and parted like men.

Do I wish I could go back in time and re-live that night over again? Absolutely. But not because I got caught. Because of the many sleepless nights I've had since then thinking about what could have happened if I hadn't gotten stopped.

[inishowen]

Saying you'll never drink and drive is commendable. But never is a long time. A year from now, 3 years, 20 years from now someone whose had a few beers has to run to the store for his wife. Slides thru a yellow into a red light and gets pulled over. DUI. It happens all the time.

My stance is that the OP got the same treatment as any other first time offender. You guys are caught up on the conviction thing which actually doesn't matter. He pleaded no contest which means he plead guilty to the charge, and has a record for doing so. He simply accepted what the court offered him, just like every other first time offender, they make it so easy just to say "no contest". If he doesn't reoffend in a year his conviction will be erased. He then paid a fine. He was ordered to attend awareness classes. This is all standard for a dui arrest. As far as the court's lifting of the suspension, if you know how the system works, this actually is pretty meaningless. Some states law take your license when your arrested, some don't take it until after you appear in court.

There are two components to punishing a DUI. The courts handle the legal side of the arrest. The DMV handles the suspension side. The OP now has what is known as a CORI report. Sometime soon the courts will dump the months CORI report that includes driving offenses to the DMV. The OP's DUI will trigger a computer generated letter to him that will suspend his license for 6 months for refusal to take a chem test. The OP will call his attorney and whine. The attorney will say something like "I was afraid of that" and act disappointed adding that he was surprised those dolts at the DMV picked up on the arrest. Then the attorney will tell the OP that he knows someone at the DMV and he might be able to get him a 12 hour cinderella license, for a fee.

This is all standard.

[[Phill]]

"Saying you'll never drink and drive is commendable. But never is a long time. A year from now, 3 years, 20 years from now someone whose had a few beers has to run to the store for his wife. Slides thru a yellow into a red light and gets pulled over. DUI. It happens all the time."

Out of interest, if you happen to be waving a loaded gun around, safety off, when under the influence of alcohol, what is the charge?

I sure doubt its as little as a fine and/or a suspended gun license.

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Btw, nothing personal OP, just drink driving is one of those pet peeves of mine, it seems you have learnt your lesson and i hope it sticks.

[HitHard69]

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There are two components to punishing a DUI. The courts handle the legal side of the arrest. The DMV handles the suspension side. The OP now has what is known as a CORI report. Sometime soon the courts will dump the months CORI report that includes driving offenses to the DMV. The OP's DUI will trigger a computer generated letter to him that will suspend his license for 6 months for refusal to take a chem test. The OP will call his attorney and whine. The attorney will say something like "I was afraid of that" and act disappointed adding that he was surprised those dolts at the DMV picked up on the arrest. Then the attorney will tell the OP that he knows someone at the DMV and he might be able to get him a 12 hour cinderella license, for a fee.


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No no no no no....
Reading comprehension please.
I ALREADY received that letter. My license was suspended by the DMV. The court rescinded the suspension.