A Deeper Understanding Of Houston DUI
Part 2
1. Your finances – A DUI case will come hard on your finances. These cases turn out to be expensive. Following are some of the prices that you may need to pay after a DUI case:
- Auto insurance – Your car insurance rate will shoot up as soon as you have a DUI case on your record. It may continue to cost more than others in the future also.
- Reinstating your driver’s license – The judge may decide to suspend your license for a while after a DUI incident. You need to pay a hefty fee to reinstate it later.
- Vehicle-related fees – The police may impound your vehicle while arresting you for a DUI offense. You need to pay a significant fee to the impound lot to get your car back. Additionally, the judge may ask you to install an ignition interlock device in your car. The installation and maintenance fee of the device also adds to the total cost.
- DUI school – According to Californian law, it’s compulsory to attend DUI classes after a DUI conviction. These classes may cost $500 to $1000, depending on the severity of your case.
- DUI fines – You may need to pay a minimum of $1000 as a penalty for your offense. Additionally, the courts may add multiple fines to cover both court and state costs. In fact, some first-time offenders have had to pay additional fees between $1000 and $2600, but these amounts can go up depending on the severity of your offense.
2. Your career – One of the ways a DUI offense can affect your career is by missing work time if the situation is serious enough to receive a prison sentence. Apart from missing work time, you will also have a DUI conviction on your permanent record that stays with you for your whole life if you don’t expunge it. That means you need to disclose the conviction as a criminal history record to your name if you want to apply for a job later. A few employers verify the criminal background of their potential employees, and it’s better that you tell the truth than hide it.
3. Your freedom – Jail time isn’t pleasant. But you may need to go through the dreaded period and sacrifice your personal freedom if you are convicted of a DUI offense. First-time offenders may need to spend nearly two days or even six months, depending on the case.
4. Your license – As already mentioned, the judge will suspend your license after a DUI offense. But the extent of the suspension can affect individuals differently. For example, it may hamper how you travel to work, especially if there is no convenient public transport. Consider yourself lucky if the judge revokes your license for only four months. Usually, judges revoke licenses for DUI cases for years.
It’s too farfetched to say that a DUI offense will ruin your life, but it may change your lifestyle and also have adverse effects on your personal freedom. Therefore, you should always work with an experienced and reliable attorney if you want to fight the DUI charges against you or at least attempt to reduce the charges. With a knowledgeable attorney by your side, you can expect to have a favorable outcome that won’t affect your daily life.
Visit our blog for more related articles. We also invite you to contact or call us today if you are in need of the best DWI Law Attorney in Houston. Click here for the third article in this series.