What Does a DUI Actually Cost You?

Each day, 28 people in the United States die due to a drunk driving crash. That’s 10,220 deaths per year. These deaths can easily be prevented by each person making the decision to find another ride if they’re too drunk to drive.

Not only can drinking and driving cost you your life or the life of someone else but driving drunk and being found guilty of DUI can cost you more than you could ever imagine. What else can getting a DUI cost you? Let’s take a look.

You May Lose Your License and Vehicle

When you are pulled over and asked to take a sobriety test, you may choose to accept or deny the request. If you deny, or if you are found to be drunk, you will be taken to the police station until someone is able to pick you up, or until you sober up. If you choose to take the test and you fail, your car may be impounded for a certain number of days. Getting your car out will most likely cost you a hefty price. If your car isn’t impounded, there is a chance that your license will be temporarily suspended.

Your Business Will Be Public Knowledge

If you are charged with DUI, the police report regarding the incident will be available to the public. Most DUI police reports are sent to local media. If a crash was the outcome of the DUI, a news station is most likely to post it on their website and talk about it on air.

Lawyers Will Cost You an Arm and a Leg

If you are charged with the crime, you may choose to have a DUI attorney or lawyer on your side during the court date and throughout the whole process. The price of a DUI lawyer isn’t cheap. You will have to pay them for their time to help you win the case and be found not guilty.

Any Vehicle Damages Must Be Paid for

If you drink and drive and get into a crash, there is a good chance that the vehicle you were driving is damaged. Your insurance may not cover the damages, so that might be something you have to cover out-of-pocket.

So, what if you think you’re okay to drive? How can you be sure? There is one thing you can do.

Use a Breathalyzer

If you want to be sure that you’re under the legal alcohol limit and are okay to drive, you can do a breathalyzer test. You can buy yourself a discreet breathalyzer that you can keep on hand to check your BAC when needed. That way of checking is a lot easier than getting a DUI and having to drive with an interlock device.

What to Do if You Need an Interlock Device

An interlock device forces you to breathe into a tube attached to your car to make sure that if you are driving, you are not drunk. The vehicle won’t start unless you blow into the spout. The ignition interlock device is attached directly to your steering wheel, but there are also other places in your vehicle where the breathalyzer may be.

If you do have to use an interlock device in your vehicle but are embarrassed about people seeing, there are ways to hide it. You may get yourself an interlock cup, which covers the device with a fake plastic drinking cup. Using this makes it look like you have a cup in your cupholder instead of a car breathalyzer.

A car breathalyzer costs anywhere between $500 to $1,500. The installation for a car breathalyzer costs about $200 and about $60 every three months for updates and repairs. Ultimately, a car breathalyzer costs just about $2,000. That’s $2,000 that could have been saved by not drinking and driving.

Drinking and driving can cost you a lot of money. After the lawyer fees, the car breathalyzer cost, and the publicity, is it really worth it?