DUI RACKET

I got 2 back to back DUIs shortly after my father passed away from stomach cancer. I was really taking it hard and lost it for a while back in 2007. As a result I lost my license for 4 years. I am lucky that I had ample finances to weather the storm. I really don't know how people who are not financially stable do it.

I thought all was good today when I was finally going down to get my license reinstated until I was told by DMV that I would have to get interlock device installed in my vehicle FOR 3 YEARS at a cost of about 6k over the 3 year period. I have not had a drink in 3 years. I also have to go to a 2 hour tutorial on blowing into this device and show up at monthly appointments so the fucking machine can be calibrated. If I am late for the meeting its 75.00. If you reschedule its 50.00. This is a fucking joke.

Drinking and Driving is a very stupid thing to do and I will never do it again, but this bullshit is a revenue grab. More people die per year for speeding than alcohol related deaths and its not close.

I also had to go to these mindless counseling sessions and pay 100.00 per hour for 30 hours for the privilege. All in all I am thinking with attorneys, fines, insurance increase, fees and this new interlock bullshit I am dropping 50k.

Personally I think I would have rather pulled 6 months in the county. This is bullshit.

 

 

 

 

Yep it's a HUGE money racket. Unreal. I got one and when it's all said in done I'll have thrown away like 6-8k. I am halfway through the nonsense...I am on a year's probation for it. Fortunately my punishments are not nearly as severe or expensive but then again you have 2  in a close span of one another so I am sure that makes a big difference. What state did you get yours in?

Yikes man. At least it sounds like your career has been unaffected.

It is fuking bull shit. The texting and driving is close to as dangerous. Everyone does it and it is no big deal. Don't let the police state win.

Whatever dough you had to spend, it beats prison.

meh, you woulda just gambled the money away anyway. evidence being that you are talking about a dui being a money grab on a gambling website. how ironic

I think there should be straight up different penalties for DUi's if it is a random pull over/innocent blow over and you seem okay it really sucks to throw the book at you. It would be awesome if there was a smaller fine. For the fuckers who are bombed or bombed and do harm to themselves, other people, or the infrastructure in the community: They can go fuck themselves and deserve prison!

Caught one in 2010 my fault (obviously) and did my requirements.

It is a big racket but what I don't get is the penalties are so inconsistent from case to case. Not talking about bodily injury or property damage cases, just regular DUI with no extenuating circumstances.

They just seem to give you certain things depending on how they feel that day. I have had friends get a slap on the wrist and others have to jump through a ton of hoops for essentially the same charge.

The DA was pissed the day I went in because his partner called in sick so he had double the cases. He was hitting everybody pretty hard if you were plea bargaining.

From what multiple people tell me normally in LA on your first you get 3 months of alcohol classes, 10 AA's and a MADD meeting.

On my first I got 6 month alcohol classes, 20 AA's, MADD, 5 days Cal Trans (Picking up trash and weeds on freeway), and a day at the LA county morgue which I never want to do again.

Your situation is a little different though with 2 in a short time span, but yeah I agree it is a money making scheme.

Right after I got mine they passed a law that it is mandatory to get an interlock device for a year on any DUI. I just made the cut off date fortunately so it didn't apply to me.

Bottom line is don't drink and drive, NOT WORTH IT EVER.

Got my interlock device installed about a month ago...but it's nowhere near that expensive.  I had to pay 200 to get it installed...65 a month...and 20 to recalibrate it.  I have to have it for one year...so it'll be about $1200 total

In NY, you get an interlock d but you also get a camera installed on passanger side so you don't beard the scam.I was sitting in court for some paper-work and a woman was getting sentanced in open court. The judge was reading off all these bull-shit conditions and after everyone he would ask "can you afford this?can you afford that?"She's paying for the camera,the therapy,etc. Easily thousands $.

Wow.  Reminder to self to never drink and drive.

I feel your pain. This year after a concert, I was sitting in the drivers seat as we sat in a parking lot waiting to go to wherever we were going next. It was hot as fuck outside and we were taking advantage of the AC

got my DUI a year ago.... coming back from the Giants game when they got their World Series rings... i was drinking all day and drove back at around midnight... needless to say i totaled my car my car on the freeway... luckily my buddy is a bail agent so i was able to bail out fast and cheaply...

It was so fucking stupid in my situation. I refused to blow or take the field sobriety test. Thus, in their eyes immediately admitting guilt. However they also charged my with evading arrest with a motor vehicle which is a FELONY because I drove another 1/4 mile on the access road and NEVER increased my speed (as seen in the video). They also charged me with resisting arrest because when I did get arrested I literally just threw my hands up with the palms open like "wtf?" and said "can't we just talk for a minute??". Then he proceeded to slam me face down into the hood of his car......so essentially the DA said if I pled guilty to DWI then he would drop the resisting arrest charge and the felony evading charge. My lawyer really wanted to take it trial by jury because he literally thought I had a legitimate chance to win but shit, the lawyer cost me 2500 bucks just to represent me...but if it went to trial by jury it would cost me another 4000 bucks not to mention I didnt even want to run the chance of having a felony on my record. It was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Oh and to add to the money racket scheme my bail was 1500 bucks (10% mind you) bc I was charged with that BULLSHIT of a felony.

It's like a poster mentioned above....each charge is based on just how the assholes feel that day. No consistency at all...I got all this bullshit with no criminal background at all. 

I'm in a similar boat to ad, above. I refused field and chemical tests. I wasn't really drunk at the time, with that being said though, I have driven drunk on other occasions, and therefore deserved my DUI.

I completely agree that the whole situation is a money grab. If it was really about learning lessons, you wouldn't even have the choice of paying finds, classes, interlock devices as oppose to just straight jail time. I got the public defender, who btw was the very best DUI defense lawyer in the town I lived in. He wanted to go to trial because the knows why the town pushed dui's and knew what the D.A. Would do. Basically of your lawyer was willing to fight the charges the D.A. Would want to settle for a lot less than a guilty plea or verdict would bring.

Predictably the D.A. Caved because I didn't give any evidence to my guilt by refusing all tests. He didn't want to go to trial and work for such a small conviction in the grand scheme of things.

It basically comes down to convenience for them. Is the trial worth their time and effort or can they get you to plea out.

Thats what it boils down to. Most people seem to plead out when they should probably fight it more.

You refuse to blow in CA and you get a mandatory 1 year license suspension.

But I agree more people should fight although that is bullshit too. The defense attorneys and the prosecutors are usually golf or drinking buddies and they cut a deal on the side before you even head to court. The system is fucked.

Nut_Flopper...that is how it is in Texas well. But, I kinda fucked up their plans I think when I moved from Texas and became a resident of NC while my court date was still pending.  Those bastards.

sorry salty your dui was bull shit . in state ca if your keys are even in car . they can charge you dui so next time when your banging girl in back seat make sure your keys are outside.

Yeah that is too bad. But I learned after I was rear ended by a drunk driver with no insurance, that drinking and driving was probably not a good thing. Nevertheless, I am sorry for the financial strife that any DUI has caused people.  

Yeah I agree they could could do a better job with it Ive pushed the limit at .08 a few times they finally got me for failure to provide. About year back Im about 3 weeks away from getting it back it definitely was not worth being impatient about a long bus ride that night.

Good luck hopefully none of us go down that road to the old breathalyser at the station again. With the bigheaded cop lecturing you and all that jibberish.

A few beers deep now I will be headed to the bus stop and get where I want to be safely. 

Confucius say...

Don't drink and park - accidents cause people.

Had a friend who was charged with a DUI just walking to his car with his keys in his hand.

A cop tried to charge me once stating I was not parked properly in a parking spot.

Most cops are mental midgets who couldn't get other jobs.

They just know it's an easy way to make the state easy bucks.