When they’re in the moment, people don’t usually take time to consider the possible consequences of their behavior. We all enjoy a night out with our friends from time to time, but what starts as a fun night of partying and drinking can be a recipe for disaster.
Recipe For Disaster
A moment of irresponsibility can change your life forever.
Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while you’re intoxicated not only puts your life on the line, it puts the lives of innocent parties who are sharing the roadway with you at risk. However, death or serious injury are not the only possible consequences which can turn your life upside down if you get caught drinking while driving.
I once knew a professional woman, who was the assistant director of her department within a prestigious university. She was successful, attractive, intelligent, and to all who knew her, appeared to have a great life. Tragedy struck her life unexpectedly when one of her parents fell ill and then died.
The grief and anger that followed began to cause tension in her home life, so she began to spend a lot of time in bars drinking and partying. The combination of alcohol and fun with her friends numbed the pain she was experiencing from the loss of her parent.
The Reality Check
Very early one morning, the woman was driving home from a bar when she was pulled over by the police. They performed a field sobriety test and she submitted to a breathalyzer, which proved that she was well over the legal limit. What turned out as a night where she wanted to dull the pain of personal issues turned into a nightmare that would continue for years.
She was arrested and ended up spending a traumatic night in jail.
There were many tears shed, but all the tears and pleading and apologies in the world didn’t get her out of lock-up. When she was finally released the following morning, the woman went home and had to ashamedly face her husband and children.
The gravity of the situation set in, and she realized that she had to locate an attorney that specialized in DUI cases.
From that point, her life went downhill. Once relatively well-off financially, the costs associated with her DUI began to chip away at her savings. Unless you’ve been through it, you cannot even begin to imagine the tremendous financial burden involved with being charged with a DUI. Many thousands of dollars were swallowed up by attorney costs, court fees, fines, lost income and vehicle insurance rates that skyrocketed after her arrest.
But the devastation went much farther than financial loss. The woman was convicted, and now has a criminal record. She spent the next few years trying to hide her conviction from her employer. Due to the company’s policies, she feared that she would lose her job if her employer found out.
The stress of court appearances and appeals in the name of trying to keep from serving time, along with the financial burden, took a toll on her family life. It eroded her relationship with her husband and caused a rift with her children. Ultimately, this lead to many months of counseling to try to keep the family together. In the end, she was sentenced to two years of supervised probation, but the damage had already been done. The situation had taken such a toll on the woman’s mental health and wellness that her husband eventually filed for divorce and custody of the children.
Talk With an Experienced DWI-DUI Lawyer in Texas
If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve been arrested for a DUI, the most important thing you can do is to retain the services of an attorney that specializes in DUI cases like the Texas Board Certified expert DUI attorneys at The Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates. Although there will be consequences no matter what, it could mean the difference between serving jail time or getting off with probation.
Is one night of fun worth destroying your entire life? The reality is that no matter how responsible or how innocent our intentions are, we’re all human and we all makes mistakes.
