No one plans to end their day at the police station, or worse, have to appear in court for a DUI. So you can imagine my experience as a first-time offender when I broke the traffic rule, crashed into stationary cars, and had to face the law. Now that it is all over, I can laugh about my mistake.

But the more I think of it, I’m happy that no one was hurt, and I only had to make repairs to the damaged vehicle and do some community time. Yes, I have to thank my lawyers for helping to keep me out of jail, but in all honesty, the entire experience could be completely avoided if I had taken a taxi home.

Getting into an Accident for the First Time

If you’ve ever gone on a long drinking spree with your friends and had to drive back home and made it successfully to your doorsteps, I surely need to commend you for that. This is not to say that it is the right thing to do, but driving under the influence is one challenging situation. But just in case, you want to ensure that you don’t do this regularly and avoid endangering the lives of others in your car or pedestrian or motorists on the road.

So to make things clear, you want to avoid drunk driving or take a cab instead when you’ve had too much to drink. It is better to arrive home drunk without your car than in the police station with damages. Or worse at the hospital with other casualties due to your recklessness.

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, you will agree that it is a life-changing experience. Hence the reason why I’m writing this piece is to share my personal experience. So how did I end up with a DUI and community service with a fine to take care of the damages I caused. You can read the not too interesting story below.

How it All Happened

The started with me driving to work oblivious of the fact that I will be spending the night at the police station. I got a message from a buddy of mine sometime in the afternoon reminding me of his party which was starting at 8 pm later in the evening. And since it was Friday night, there were no reasons not to attend. It had been a stressful month and since we were only getting out of lockdown from the covid-19 pandemic, it was only right to get out and have fun.

After work, I decided to make it to the venue which happened to be a local bar where we frequent in the past before the lockdown. “Many people are going to be turning up, and I’ve asked the attendants to make available enough refreshments and music to ensure we get our groove on.”

This was the message reply I got from my buddy when I asked him how the night was going to be before leaving the office. I went home to change and relax a bit before heading out to a night of fun. So at few minutes past eight, I headed straight for my car and drove off to the bar where I was going to have a good time with friends.

Watch How Much You Drink

You know the saying “drink but don’t get drunk?” I had to remember this the hard way with strong lessons learned on the importance of drinking to your limits. On reaching the pub, I quickly settled for a shot of Bacardi and thought the night was only starting. The place was full and as expected, a lot of people had turned up. So you can imagine how wild the celebrations were when we were only seeing friends and acquaintances after a long time indoors. Drinks poured continuously, and there was enough to eat as well.

I guess I had lost my inhibitions after about six shots of Bacardi and two bottles of beer. Things took a different turn when I was dragged to the dance floor and started dancing like I was back in college for the first time. I threw everything to the dancefloor, moving like someone who had been possessed by Poseidon, drunk like the gods themselves. My head was light, and couldn’t think of anything serious while the encounter lasted. I still can’t remember entirely what transpired during the party, but I know that I did end up leaving the place alone.

On the Way Home

I must have found a way to get on the road driving behind the wheel intoxicated to the point that I must have vomited in the car at some point. This was evident after the crash when the police easily tell that I was drunk driving after a messy barf of alcohol and meat was found in the passenger seat next to that of the driver, and some more on the floor.

I can remember having poor coordination and vision and at some point, I must have ventured out of my lane into the next crashing into three vehicles parked on the side of the road. Luckily I wasn’t moving at a high speed. So I didn’t injure myself badly, but I had busted my nose, broken the left headlights and fender, and traded paints with the vehicle I collided with bending the bonnet badly. The impact was enough to move the car a little distance pulling two others behind with it.

Not much damage had been done, but as it was, I had to wait for the cops when the owner of one of the vehicles was drawn to the accident, only to find the occupant was a drunk driver. By this time, I was a little sober but still intoxicated from all the chemicals surging through my body. I was lying on the floor half passed out when the cops came and I was taken to the station.

Since I was incoherent, the cops had to use my license and registration to get in touch with my emergency contacts which happened to be my sweet mother. I can only imagine how she must have felt getting the call about my accident. I had to spend the remainder of the night in jail before mummy came to bail me out in the morning.

Appearing in Court

While it was obvious that I was going to be charged for reckless driving, DUI, and damage to properties, I had to look for a lawyer to defend me. It wasn’t hard getting someone to represent me as my parents had helped with reaching out to some reliable legal practitioners proficient in DUI cases. “I can see you are a first-time offender. This will help with pleading our case to the judge.

We thank God there was no casualty as that would have made this difficult.” “You could get away with a short jail time at worse.” “But I’ll work towards a fine or community service since you have no prior offenses.”

I felt relieved after my first meeting with the lawyer but still felt lucky that no one was hurt during the accident. I was shaken for weeks until my court date. And after the ceremonial legal proceedings, I was slammed with 6 weeks’ community service at any of the youth facilities in the area.

Not much of a penalty I imagined and was happy that the episode had finally ended. The owners of the vehicles weren’t pressing charges since I had agreed to take care of the repair expenses which was a large chunk for the three vehicles.

I did get my license withdrawn for a year and wasn’t supposed to be at the driver’s seat for the new 12 months. After 6 weeks’ community service and swearing to my mum never to drink and drive again, things started to get back to normal. I felt less guilt and could move on with my life. This link https://familydoctor.org/post-traumatic-stress-after-a-traffic-accident/ has suggestions on how to move on after an accident.

I was lucky not to lose my job but I did go for 2 months without pay, so it was my parents who had to shed out over $10,000 for the repairs and legal expenses. How can I ever pay them back I thought to myself? I guess it’s best to keep my promise and not allow a repeat situation.

What to Do When Faced with a DUI

Now that I have shared my personal experience with a DUI, I can now get into how you too can deal with a DUI case. While I’m in no position to give advice, I could assist you with how to make the best out of your present situation.

The first thing I’m going to say is that you want to avoid a repeat occurrence. So you want to promise yourself not to ever operate a vehicle or machine while under the influence. While I can’t tell you to completely avoid drinking, you want to know your limit.

It will also be best if you can get help if you suffer from substance abuse or addiction as this will help you to avoid a repeat occurrence. But since you have to manage your present situation below are some of the things you’ll need to do when faced with a DUI charge.

Get a Lawyer

A legal counsel is important to represent you in court and better present your case. You want to work with someone with the right experience with DUIs. So you want to search extensively, and the guys at mylocalduilawyer.com have got your back any day, any time. It is possible that the State can provide a lawyer for you in the case of a criminal charge, but you want to handle this yourself. The internet is an excellent place to find professional legal representation as there are numerous law firms with a website looking to offer assistance with your legal needs.

Your Court Appearance

You want to plead guilty especially if you were given a sobriety test as I did and you will be surprised to see the video of you in court in front of everyone present. And as you can imagine, you will get stiffer punishment for contempt of court. So you want to be honest with your lawyers so they can help build your case better. It helps if you are a first-time offender as judges are more lenient with such cases. But if there are such cases in the past involving you in a DUI or similar offense, there is a good chance to expect stiffer punishment.

Putting things in Order

Following your court appearance, you may have to forfeit your driver’s license and be fined heavily for damages to state property or injury to people depending on the extent of the damage. In fatal cases where someone dies as a result of the incident, you could be facing a jail sentence. But if you are lucky to escape with fines, seizures of the license, and probation sentence, you should be happy and focus on moving on.

You may have to cough out money for the repairs and bills associated with the incident and not to forget legal expenses. You may also need to take an alcohol evaluation to be able to get back on the road again. But there I no need to be in a hurry as you can take the time off driving to access your life and make the best use of the experience.

Visiting the hospital for a checkup is also advised as it is common to suffer internal injuries from the smallest of collisions. I broke my nasal cartilage and severed some vessels in my nasal cavity, but it wasn’t serious, and only spend a few hours in the hospital. It could have been worse if I had neglected medical attention. So make sure to visit the hospital no later than a few days after your arrest.

Final Note

A DUI could be a bad experience for anyone but there is a lot to learn moving forward. It could be the experience you need to shape your mindset better about putting your health and safety in the right perspective.

You want to do well to avoid using alcohol and other hard substances while operating heavy machinery. And it is always best to take a taxi home after a night of excessive drinking. You don’t want to take the risk and be caught unaware. You could be putting your life and that of others in grave danger.