post-dui advice?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: lancaster, pa
Posts: 1
post-dui advice?
hey. i'm 24 and have pretty much been a 365/7 drinker for the past 4 years. anyway, i've been cutting downd a lot recently, from every day of the year to like 3/4 a week, which i know is far from the goal but i'm trying to improve. anyway, i had two specific questions that i was hoping that somebody with similiar legal (see above) experiences might have some familiarity with:
1) i never ever drink and drive at all, at least in close temporal proximity, but i get really nervous like when e.g. i drink 8 beers and 2 shots, pass put at 4 am, and then intend to drive again at, say, 1 pm--am i still legally drunk? of course i feel fine, but if i were to be pulled over for speeding etc., would they find something in my blood (i'm 5'7" 125 lb. male) if they found reason to test me? i'm really paranoid about this...; and
2) in my state (pa) at least, the MINIMUM second dui offense is 90 days in jail--if i were caught under the influence again, would i be able to claim a certain mental illness (i.e. alcoholism) as a defense, certainly not to have it thrown it away but perhaps remanded to a rehab ward or something, instead of jail? i'm not going to hold anybody to their word here of course, but any kind of theorizing or personal experience might help to alleviate or dis-alleviate my anxiety with respect to these two issues.
thanks very much, and good luck to you all. i'm trying too.
1) i never ever drink and drive at all, at least in close temporal proximity, but i get really nervous like when e.g. i drink 8 beers and 2 shots, pass put at 4 am, and then intend to drive again at, say, 1 pm--am i still legally drunk? of course i feel fine, but if i were to be pulled over for speeding etc., would they find something in my blood (i'm 5'7" 125 lb. male) if they found reason to test me? i'm really paranoid about this...; and
2) in my state (pa) at least, the MINIMUM second dui offense is 90 days in jail--if i were caught under the influence again, would i be able to claim a certain mental illness (i.e. alcoholism) as a defense, certainly not to have it thrown it away but perhaps remanded to a rehab ward or something, instead of jail? i'm not going to hold anybody to their word here of course, but any kind of theorizing or personal experience might help to alleviate or dis-alleviate my anxiety with respect to these two issues.
thanks very much, and good luck to you all. i'm trying too.
Don't get undies in a bunch
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore MA
Posts: 7,120
Solutions....
Don't drink and you won't need worry about any of what you ask.
Also won't need to worry about other things you have not asked about as well.
my 24 year old needs worry about where he is going to come up with $6000 for his lawyer. Needs to worry about who will drive him to work. Needs to worry about coming up with $1500 for added insurance costs...if I let him use my car again when he stops his drinking.
And sooner or later he will start to worry about such things as... what did I do last night? I can't remember. (if he continues drinking)
Something I learned after a few times of getting caught.... seems most of my troubles came when I was drinking. I have never had cuffs on my wrist without first having put a beer in my belly. hmmm a connection? Maybe I should try things without the drinking?
Well without the beers inside, for some reason I stopped getting in trouble.
Just a few things to think on ....
Don't drink and you won't need worry about any of what you ask.
Also won't need to worry about other things you have not asked about as well.
my 24 year old needs worry about where he is going to come up with $6000 for his lawyer. Needs to worry about who will drive him to work. Needs to worry about coming up with $1500 for added insurance costs...if I let him use my car again when he stops his drinking.
And sooner or later he will start to worry about such things as... what did I do last night? I can't remember. (if he continues drinking)
Something I learned after a few times of getting caught.... seems most of my troubles came when I was drinking. I have never had cuffs on my wrist without first having put a beer in my belly. hmmm a connection? Maybe I should try things without the drinking?
Well without the beers inside, for some reason I stopped getting in trouble.
Just a few things to think on ....
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 1,432
Anyone who drinks the amount you do on a regular basis should know how to calculate when they are legally drunk.
Your body processes about one drink per hour, regardless of your body weight. At your weight, about 2 drinks in one hour makes you legally drunk (in California anyway). One drink each hour after that keeps you legally drunk. If you drank 'til you passed out, you were drinking more than one drink per hour. But no, you probably aren't legally drunk nine hours later--assuming you counted correctly.
If you are getting a blood and/or urine test for, say, a life insurance policy--yes, they will find stuff in your blood as a result of your body processing that quantity of alcohol in a short period, and they'll probably require you to get a liver function test. Which, from the sound of things, wouldn't be a bad idea.
"of course i feel fine"....yeah, right! Have you noticed any upset stomach, dizziness, fatigue, dry eyes, shakiness, headache, dry mouth....?
Minimum sentencing is hard to get around. You can claim any kind of novel defense you want, but judges see so many DUI's they aren't likely to fall for it. And there's a good reason for minimum sentencing for drunk drivers. Going to jail tends to get some people, at least, to change their unhealthy and unsafe behavior. I think your anxiety regarding the consequences of drinking and driving is not misplaced. In fact, the point of the law is for you to be anxious about it!
Congratulations on cutting down on your drinking. You may find that choosing not to drink at all is actually easier than cutting down. Moderation can be harder to sustain than abstinence, because there's so much more planning and figuring involved.
Figuring out why you like to drink so much, and then figuring out other ways to get those benefits you believe alcohol provides, could help you avoid the legal, financial, physical, and emotional consequences of heavy drinking. Not drinking every day is a good first step, because the cycle of daily drinking can be especially hard to break. Setting some clear goals for your maximum # of drinks per week (no more than 10 - 12 for example, and no more than 2 - 3 on any one day), and seeing if you can stick to that, might give you an indication whether drinking has become compulsive behavior for you.
If you can't stick to your own goal for moderate drinking, try quitting entirely for a week. It's not really that hard to do, especially if you've cut back for a couple of weeks first; it's uncomfortable for a few days, but not unbearable. Then quit for a month. See how you like being sober, and then think about what benefits, if any, you'd get from starting up again that would be worth the possibility of gradually increasing to heavy drinking.
Don S
Your body processes about one drink per hour, regardless of your body weight. At your weight, about 2 drinks in one hour makes you legally drunk (in California anyway). One drink each hour after that keeps you legally drunk. If you drank 'til you passed out, you were drinking more than one drink per hour. But no, you probably aren't legally drunk nine hours later--assuming you counted correctly.
If you are getting a blood and/or urine test for, say, a life insurance policy--yes, they will find stuff in your blood as a result of your body processing that quantity of alcohol in a short period, and they'll probably require you to get a liver function test. Which, from the sound of things, wouldn't be a bad idea.
"of course i feel fine"....yeah, right! Have you noticed any upset stomach, dizziness, fatigue, dry eyes, shakiness, headache, dry mouth....?
Minimum sentencing is hard to get around. You can claim any kind of novel defense you want, but judges see so many DUI's they aren't likely to fall for it. And there's a good reason for minimum sentencing for drunk drivers. Going to jail tends to get some people, at least, to change their unhealthy and unsafe behavior. I think your anxiety regarding the consequences of drinking and driving is not misplaced. In fact, the point of the law is for you to be anxious about it!
Congratulations on cutting down on your drinking. You may find that choosing not to drink at all is actually easier than cutting down. Moderation can be harder to sustain than abstinence, because there's so much more planning and figuring involved.
Figuring out why you like to drink so much, and then figuring out other ways to get those benefits you believe alcohol provides, could help you avoid the legal, financial, physical, and emotional consequences of heavy drinking. Not drinking every day is a good first step, because the cycle of daily drinking can be especially hard to break. Setting some clear goals for your maximum # of drinks per week (no more than 10 - 12 for example, and no more than 2 - 3 on any one day), and seeing if you can stick to that, might give you an indication whether drinking has become compulsive behavior for you.
If you can't stick to your own goal for moderate drinking, try quitting entirely for a week. It's not really that hard to do, especially if you've cut back for a couple of weeks first; it's uncomfortable for a few days, but not unbearable. Then quit for a month. See how you like being sober, and then think about what benefits, if any, you'd get from starting up again that would be worth the possibility of gradually increasing to heavy drinking.
Don S
Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Kansas City,Mo
Posts: 478
If you have to ask,then you need to worry!
I have had 2 DWIs and was told as a stipulation of my probabtion..I could not be behind the wheel of a car for 24 hours after consuming alcohol.24 hours from when I took my last drink of alcohol.
Dont you think that not drinking would be the answer to your question!
I have had 2 DWIs and was told as a stipulation of my probabtion..I could not be behind the wheel of a car for 24 hours after consuming alcohol.24 hours from when I took my last drink of alcohol.
Dont you think that not drinking would be the answer to your question!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Venice, Florida
Posts: 414
You have had some suberb advice. I will reiterate the first one.
IF YOU HAVE TO ASK, YOU SHOULD WORRY!
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
Are you living your life in fear of the "what ifs?"
Do you value your life?
All good questions to answer and then maybe come to the conclusion that to stop is the best gift you can give you!
IF YOU HAVE TO ASK, YOU SHOULD WORRY!
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
Are you living your life in fear of the "what ifs?"
Do you value your life?
All good questions to answer and then maybe come to the conclusion that to stop is the best gift you can give you!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Boston
Posts: 710
Hi Tractatus,
Sounds like the only thing that you are trying to do is figure out how to not take responsibility and be accountable for the consequences for your drinking.
I have a few suggestions that will without a doubt alleveiate all of your anxiety with respect to these two issues.
1. Don't drink.
2. Call Alcoholics Anonymous, the telephone number is in your phone book.
i'm trying too.
but any kind of theorizing or personal experience might help to alleviate or dis-alleviate my anxiety with respect to these two issues.
1. Don't drink.
2. Call Alcoholics Anonymous, the telephone number is in your phone book.
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