One of those three friends of mine got a DUI for drinking a 32oz Budweiser at Applebee's with his parents. Personally, I don't see how a 32oz beer, had with dinner over the course of an hour and a half, could impair this particular person's ability to drive. In Georgia, the legal BAC limit is .008. Not that that matters, you could be "snippy" to a cop in Marietta after finishing that last sip of wine at BayBreeze or some shit and get locked up for a DUI before you know it, breathalizer or not.

In that respect, driving drunk is beyond any sort of foul adjective one can think of, but not all DUI's are made by shit-faced vehicular-homicidal maniacs, and it's sort of rude to assume outright that our associate here was driving 80 down residential streets with a handle of Evan Williams in his belly.

I'm sorry, Driver...driving drunk is a no-no, but I can sympathize with your plight.

I definitely didn't come here for sympathy. Just advice for minimizing the damage. Besides the obvious. It was obviously a horribly stupid thing to do. 3 beers was the intake. I never ever plan on doing it again.

wiggins wrote:In Georgia, the legal BAC limit is .008.

You're a little off there...

wiggins wrote:One of those three friends of mine got a DUI for drinking a 32oz Budweiser at Applebee's with his parents. Personally, I don't see how a 32oz beer, had with dinner over the course of an hour and a half, could impair this particular person's ability to drive. In Georgia, the legal BAC limit is .008. Not that that matters, you could be "snippy" to a cop in Marietta after finishing that last sip of wine at BayBreeze or some shit and get locked up for a DUI before you know it, breathalizer or not.

There is no way a 32 oz Bud would make you blow .08, unless you're about 3 feet tall and weigh 50 lbs.

Getting snippy to a cop if you've been pulled over for being potentially DUI is a really really bad idea. That's when the cop starts busting out your headlights and starts giving you tickets for that.

I have two friends who have had DUIs, and managed to have normal lives afterward. Neither one was in a crash, etc. Both had legal help. Both were tape recorded during their arrests, both were just over the limit, and neither one was obviously tanked. Neither person misbehaved at all during his arrest.

Definitely do not expect to be driving soon, and budget for a major insurance rate hike when your privileges have been restored. You will have to go to a class on drunk driving, where you will meet people whose relatives have been killed by drunk drivers.

Get a reference for a good local DUI attorney. I'm glad you learned your lesson. That said, I'm glad Illinois is a .08 state.

Mark Hansen wrote:There is no way a 32 oz Bud would make you blow .08, unless you're about 3 feet tall and weigh 50 lbs.

Not quite that small, but yeah.

http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/general/bac.htm

It really does depend how drunk you were. Just over the legal limit?

Here in California, if you were right on the border, an attorney may be able to get it reduced to a wet and reckless, which is a little better than a DUI.

If you were obviously over the legal limit, do not waste your money on an attorney. Judges don't use a lot of discretion with DUI's and the sentences given.

Take your lumps, pay a fine. Move on. It sucks but your life is not over.

If you get a second one, yeah your're way fucked.

ALWAYS GET A LAWYER.

If you have no prior offenses, I would imagine you'd be eligible for some sort of probation/diversion program. Unless Georgia law is super-duper insanely harsh, I would hope you're just looking at some kind of fine and a "suspended bust" - i.e. don't dare get a 2nd one within the next few years (well, don't get a second one ever, really)

But try winging it without a lawyer, and who knows what you might get?
(A proper conviction *and* a fine *and* jailtime/community service?)

The lawyer could cost you well over $1000, and you might think you don't have that kind of dough - but it's not an option to go without one, seriously.

ALWAYS GET A LAWYER.


Edit:

Sorry, please disregard what I said above about diversion...

"Georgia offers no "deferred" or "diversion" sentencing alternatives for "DUI" (our acronym), and all offenses carry license loss of 1 to 5 years, with some provisions for early reinstatement using an ignition interlock device after performing certain "rehabilitation" objectives."

http://www.lawyers.ca/international/sum ... te=Georgia

Minotaur029 wrote:I'm sorry, Driver...driving drunk is a no-no, but I can sympathize with your plight.

+1

This was the wrong place to come, bud. A lot of people hang out here just to talk shit or for a chance to make other people feel as shitty as they do about themselves.