When a driver gets a DUI, many aspects of his or her life are significantly impacted. Aside from the immediate court costs, embarrassmen...
When a driver gets a DUI, many aspects of his or her life are significantly impacted. Aside from the immediate court costs, embarrassment, and possible jail time, an arrest for driving under the influence (DUI) can impact a person's insurance rates, professional relationships, and his or her ability to find work for years to come. DUIs, the most common criminal offense in the United States, have long term effects on a person’s life. Though a person may be affected in many ways, there are four especially common consequences of a DUI incident.
1. Driver’s License Revocation
Whether it be for alcohol or drug use, an individual charged with a DWI could have his or her license revoked for up to two years. This often takes a heavy toll on a person’s ability to travel to and from work. People with revoked licenses may have to relocate or find new employment in order to avoid driving illegally. Those who choose to drive illegally, however, run the risk of even greater legal trouble if he or she gets caught.
The inability to drive makes it difficult to see family and friends, breaking the individual away from support systems that could improve an already strained life. As a result, a person who loses his or her license following a DUI charge may experience an emotional strain, which could impact an individual's life in innumerable ways.
2. Background Checks and DUIs
From employment to housing applications, background checks are found wherever a person has a chance for social mobility. A felony or misdemeanor DUI will appear on a background check, potentially impacting a person’s entry into the law school of his or her dreams or to the best apartment in the area. Though a person may have paid all fines and served any required time in jail, the influence of a DUI could bar freedom for years to come. DUIs are not taken lightly in professional settings. A person with one of these convictions could expect a lifetime of being judged harshly by important gatekeepers.
3. Auto Insurance Rates Rise
People dealing with a DUI are often simultaneously battling complications with the judicial system and his or her auto insurance company. Insurance companies rarely accept a car accident claim if the claimant totaled the car while driving under the influence of substances, which puts the person convicted in a frustrating financial position. In the long term, a DUI could also seriously impact a person’s auto insurance rates. Rates may double or triple for several years following the DUI incident. In addition, some insurance companies may choose to terminate the individual's coverage altogether.
4. Professional Relationships Become Strained
A person convicted of a DUI could experience severe strains on his or her professional relationships. Even if the individual tries to keep the DUI hidden from the public, there is often the possibility the news will be delivered to coworkers through the media or by word of mouth. These coworkers could build prejudice against the colleague. People who get DUIs run the risk of living in a new, hostile working world. An individual may even be fired for his or her conviction, depending on existing agreements with his or her employers.
In most cases, an individual does stop paying a societal debt the moment he or she completes required jail sentences or settles fines resulting from the charge. However, a DUI, like many other misdemeanor or felony convictions, impacts a person the entirety of his or her life. An individual dealing with a DUI charge may be overwhelmed by conflicts with his or her auto insurance company, employers, and the judicial system. For these reasons and many others, a DUI conviction is certainly a fate to be avoided.
