There are lots of variations associated with DUI laws. You might not be genuinely familiar with them until you’re officially looking for professional assistance from a DUI lawyer. There are plenty of local differences in laws in general, especially when it comes to something as relatively common as a DUI case. New York public intoxication laws are different from those in other states, for example. A case involving a single-car accident DUI will become much more severe if someone got injured.
Automotive accidents are taken seriously even when it’s medically confirmed that no one got hurt. If you were driving while intoxicated in general, the penalties vary in terms of their overall severity. When someone gets harmed in an accident that you helped cause, it can change everything. If you’ve never had a DUI offense before, that could help you.
The general impairment vs DUI difference can also be important for you legally. It’s actually a good illustration of how complicated DUI cases can be for anyone, even when it looks like the accident or situation was at least comparatively mild. People can be formally charged with multiple seemingly distinct offenses that still relate to one occurrence. Every DUI sign matters.
Getting a drunk driving charge can really affect the outcome of your life. It can affect your relationships, your financial wellbeing and your career possibilities. It can also affect your legal outcome, potentially landing you with jail time and probation, depending on your past drunk driving occurrences. Other priors like drug charges, domestic abuse charges and even previous misdemeanors can also have an effect on the outcome of your case. When you are charged with a drunk driving charge, it is important that you hire a DUI attorney as soon as possible.
For obvious reasons, it is never a good idea to drink and drive. It slows the reaction time and it causes more accidents. This is why it is illegal. However, different states have different legal limits. There are no set numbers of drinks that will mean you are over legal driving limit. Your blood alcohol content level can depend on many factors, including your alcohol tolerance, your size and weight and even the amount and the type of food you have eaten that day. All of these factors make it very difficult to know when you are at the legal limit. You may feel fine, choose to drive and then get stuck with a driving under the influence charge.
Each day, people drive drunk almost 300,000 times, but fewer than 4,000 are arrested. (MADD). An average of 80 people are killed on U.S. roads each day. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Reducing drunk driving incidents could really reduce the number of U.S. road deaths daily. A good DUI attorney will, instead, plea for drug and alcohol classes, rather than jail time, which does not seem to reduce the likeliness of driving under the influence.
Considering that there are so many drunk driving incidents every year, there are also many DUI lawyers. This can make it difficult in choosing a DUI attorney that fits with you. When you are looking for a drunk driving defense attorney, it is a good idea to consult with a few. Your drunk driving defense attorney should be willing to provide you with a few initial consultation, allowing you to ask questions before hiring a DUI attorney.
You should inquire about your potential drunk driving defense attorney and their education, their years of experience and their previous case outcomes. You will want a drunk driving attorney who is knowledgeable with the specific driving laws and legal limits in your state. You will want a drunk driving defense attorney who is also familiar with the judges and the district court that your case will be heard in. This could mean the difference between jail time and probation. Probation allows you to serve your sentence outside of jail, while helping out your community. It is essentially providing your community a service in return for your danger to the community. Jail time often does not show any promise in reducing drunk driving incidents.
Considering that an average drunk driver has driver drunk 80 times before the first arrest (MADD), legal limits and intoxication tests are necessary. Although they may feel frustrating when you are just over the limit, they are set for a reason. However, if you are barely at the legal limit, you are likely to have an easier time in court, getting your sentence reduced.
Driving drunk is dangerous. It reduces your reaction times and causes many accidents. This is why many states have set legal blood alcohol content limits. If you are over that limit, and you are caught driving, you are arrested and taken into custody. You will need the representation of a drunk driving defense attorney. It is always a good idea to consult with a variety of drunk driving defense attorneys prior to hiring one. You are fighting for your freedom, after all.