This is important information about how a DUI citation will immediately affect your life now and for years into the future.
The reason these severe penalties are not reducing DUI accidents is because drivers don’t know about the penalties until AFTER an accident or death happens. Too late – damage done. It’s like letting a child get hit crossing the road and then saying “Well, you should have looked both ways!
Having volunteered three years in a DUI offender program and hearing how a DUI had totally turned people’s lives upside down because they didn’t know BEFORE the criminal penalties a DUI activates, my sense of fairness said this isn’t right! DUI penalties are so severe it’s only fair that drivers know BEFORE they receive a DUI what’s at risk and the devastating effects it has on their life so they will make the smart decision to never drive impaired.
Everyone hears about the deaths and tragic injuries suffered in DUI accidents. These are the devastating impacts a DUI citation has on a driver’s life immediately and for years into the future, and most importantly how to avoid these life-changing consequences.
THE GOAL IS TO SAVE LIVES!
DUI drivers cause 30% of traffic deaths. That 30% will be reduced once drivers know what’s at risk and how to avoid the severe consequences of a DUI by choosing to never drive impaired.
Create a safety plan to make sure you never drive impaired and promise to follow it! Figure out what will work for you. Here are some suggestions:
Have a designated driver.
Before drinking or doing drugs plan a safe and sober ride home so you can enjoy yourself.
Spend the night where you are. The floor or couch is better than jail – or a hospital!
Have a list of people that can pick you up and call them.
Get a breathalyzer to test yourself and others if there’s any doubt.
The cost of a taxi or Uber at twice the price is money well spent!
Utah Public High Schools Driver Education is using this program
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medical cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause.
Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause.
Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
Utah has a “NOT A DROP” law which means that if a person is under 21, they cannot have any measurable amount of alcohol or in their system at any time while driving. It carries an immediate 6-month suspension with the possibility of suspension until age 21.
Careers not eligible for because of a DUI:
1- Medical field – any position
2- Education: professors, teachers, coaches +
3- Law enforcement, state and federal
4- Pilots license
5- Any job requiring a security clearance
6- Armed Forces, all branches
7- Plumbers and electricians
8- Firefighter
9- Childcare; nursery, pre-school
10- Mental Health
11- Any job requiring a driver license
A person can expect to be fired if this is their current occupation
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
It is driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Prescriptions for pain pills, sleeping bills, cough medicine, medial cannabis, etc., are not “get out of jail free” cards. If you’re impaired, you’re impaired, no matter the cause. Check all medications for warning labels, ask the doctor and/or pharmacist to see if there is a risk of impairment.
Create a safety plan to make sure you never drive impaired and promise to follow it! Figure out what will work for you. Here are some suggestions:
Have a designated driver.
Before drinking or doing drugs plan a safe and sober ride home so you can enjoy yourself.
Spend the night where you are. The floor or couch is better than jail – or a hospital!
Have a list of people that can pick you up and call them.
Get a breathalyzer to test yourself and others if there’s any doubt.
The cost of a taxi or Uber at twice the price is money well spent!
If only I hadn’t killed or injured innocent people!
If only I hadn’t driven!
If only I hadn’t let my pride and ego make the decision to drive!
If only I’d called someone!
If only I still had my license!
If only I could get my job back!
If only my friends and family still trusted me!
If only I had all that money that I’ve paid in fines.
________________________
“Discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs tons. ” Jim Rohn
Regret is not where you want to live.
My DUI has completely changed my life. It went from being something that was short term and manageable (for my first offense) to something that required huge life changes and commitments. I had to sell my car, lost my license, supervised probation, random testing, paying my fines. I have to find a ride to the grocery store. I ride my bike to work every day, basically my whole life shrunk to meet the limitations of my new life.
I think mostly it cost me the trust everyone had that I was okay. As for myself personally, it’s cost me the ability to be independent. I can’t necessarily take new opportunities or go anywhere because I always have to depend on someone to give me rides and a schedule that works with the free time people have around me.
Emotionally I have paid by losing or ruining relationship that meant a lot to me. It affected my relationship with my parents and my siblings. It’s affected what kind of work I can do. It’s caused me to change how I plan my days and what I am able to do because I have lost my privilege to drive.
Driving under the influence (DUI) has consistently shown to be the most common criminal offense in the United States. Many conscientious drivers with otherwise clean records have been arrested for a DUI and suddenly found their lives in a dizzying tailspin from which they could not pull out.
Unfortunately, the long-term shock waves from my DUI will cause the greatest pain. Even after I pay my fines and fulfill my legal obligations, my DUI conviction will still undermine my future opportunities and haunt my life for years.
Please feel free to contact me with inquiries or questions by phone 801-897-0578 or email [email protected]
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