chrcarlson

You will not do any jail time. From the sound of it you will probably "get off the hook." Differed adjudication or Obstructing a highway-that's what I'd go for. You can trust me about DWIs-I've had 5. The main thing is you DO NOT want any more. Always have a plan BEFORE you start drinking. Use Uber?

thomas11

I think its very admirable that you are taking responsibility and not trying to blame anything or anyone other than yourself. It is a scary situation to be in, but don't make it out to be any worse or any better than the true reality of the situation. You mention prison. Prison is not for first time DUI offenders unless there is a death. Even if you did have to do jailtime, it would be county, and even then you would probably qualify for work release, or home monitoring. I guess my point is that it is unlikely you will spend any time in a cell. That being said, it doesn't lessen the severity of your offense.

Persephone3

DUIs happen to a lot of good people. You made a mistake.

It doesn't necessarily sound to me like you need to quit drinking entirely because you made a bad judgment call. But next time, have a plan. Use a taxi or uber if you are drinking, or plan to stop at one if you are out. If that becomes a problem, then AA might be for you.

An uber home is, like, $10--a DUI can ruin your life.

Berrybean

ZC why not Google AA and your home town for the meetings and go along. You may be surprised by how much relief you get from being able to talk openly about what happened (I don't necessarily mean to the whole group, more in the time before the meeting starts and the break time). If the DUI hits the local rag it'll be good to have a support network of people who can understand about the nature of alcohol and how this could have happened to a nice young man like yourself, and it will alcohol should the court that you are taking responsibility for not letting this happen again.

least

I would suggest you start going to AA meetings before it is mandated by the court. I also hope you can stop drinking. Drinking only causes problems.

Gottalife

There is nothing in your posts that leads me to think you may be alcoholic. A DUI does not an alcoholic make. Alcoholism is about two things, loss of control, and choice, neither of those factors are apparent in your posts.

It would be a sad thing if the court sends you to AA. From AA's point of view the membership requirement is a desire to stop drinking, and all who suffer from alcoholism are welcome, along with those trying to figure out if they are alcoholic or not.

I suppose you could pop along to some open meetings as an observer and see what you can learn, but AA's function is not to straighten out people who drink and drive, it is to help the still suffering alcoholic.

Opivotal

How did you make out with the lawyer, ZachariahCarter?

scintillady

I too got my first (and last) DUI when I took my boyfriend's car which I was not familiar with and forgot to turn the headlights on. The weird thing is that I went to get pizza for us both because he had been drinking and I thought I was OK to drive. Shoulda had Papa John's deliver! Anyway, I had to take court mandated 3 day class, lost my license for 3 months, had to go to counseling, and paid a lawyer almost $10,000 to unsuccessfully go to court for me when he knew from the beginning that I would not win. I take full responsibility. I only wish I had pled guilty in the first place, as it took a year before I finally had to plead guilty anyway. Since my job involves driving clients in the work van, I had to switch from days to overnights (since they don't drive anyone anywhere) and 3 years probation at my job. Luckily I am a good employee and I didn't get fired. I since went to detox, take antabuse every day, and no longer drink.

kittycat3

I have a dwi too and, like you, had a high BAC. I see a lot of comments saying you won't get jail time because it's a first offense, but you being twice over the legal limit will likely need to be addressed in court - you can't really argue that you only had 1- 2 drinks before getting behind the wheel.
In my state, being 2x or more over the limit is a gross misdemeanor DWI (vs just a regular misdemeanor) which means higher fines and longer probationary periods for getting back your license, etc.
Can you really be sure you won't ever do this again?

I agree with the others, go to some AA meetings, and listen and learn. You can get past this but don't sweep it under the rug. You are very lucky you didn't hurt yourself, your friend, or an innocent bystander!

MelindaFlowers

Welcome. You'll get through this.

As someone who risked it many times, I'll ask this just like I would ask a friend in this circumstance.

Do you think anyone ever planned on getting their second DUI?

I have not had a DUI but I have done many other dangerous and destructive things when drinking. I always said "never again" and I meant it. As long as I continued drinking the incidents kept happening. Not every time I drank but sometimes.

All I am trying to say is that when we are drinking it hinders our judgment. Just like I have an many here have, you had a lapse in judgment when drinking.

Are you going to stop drinking?

JeffreyAK

Just a thought, 2x the legal limit is pretty drunk for anyone who is a normal light drinker, and it's unlikely you had no issues with the field tests, which they give to see if more scrutiny is warranted and also to back up their case in court, if it turns out you're drunk. It's just getting started for a pickled addict (I once blew 0.45 in a hospital, I know people who've been up near 1.0), but pickled addicts have a huge tolerance that once-a-week occasional drinkers don't have. Only you know how much you really drink, but that 40% number is basically also the number of people who get a first DUI and who are alcoholics who need to quit for good. Maybe check out some speaker meetings and see if you hear yourself in any of the stories?

justinnn

Zach, I know what it's like. I'm about the same age as you(26) I got a 2nd DUI on New Years this year. It's one of the most stressful things you can go through and I've been through it twice. I'm slowly putting it behind me, but it isn't fun. I had to serve 20 days in jail because of it. I have a lot of counseling I have to do, drug tests I have to pay for myself, a lot of $$$ still left to pay the courts, etc. I have to take off work a lot to get my probation stuff done. My boss doesn't like it, but he fortunately puts up with it.

It sucks, but you know what? I wake up each day grateful and ready to take on the day. I'm sober now 80 days because of this. And while at times it's a pain in the ass putting up with everything, I always think about how much worse it could've been. I could've killed someone. I could still be in jail. I could've lost my job. Etc.

I guess my advice is just be grateful for what didn't happen and take whatever does happen as a result head on. I know it's stressful because the courts have full control of you, trust me.. I worried myself to death too. There's nothing you can do about it though. It's not the end of the world especially for just a 1st offense with no accidents. Just do what you have to do, before you know it this will be behind you.

But please don't be me! I told myself the same thing on my first DUI. This will never happen again, I'm so ashamed, etc. But it did. I didn't take my drinking seriously. The 1st offense was a slap on the wrist for me. Once I got sentenced and the stress was over, it wasn't long before I was falling back into old habits. Hell, they didn't even really limit my alcohol intake on the 1st one(no alcohol testing and the only wording on my probation order pertaining to alcohol said "don't drink to excess"). So I could still drink and did. I didn't drive drunk for awhile after it, but eventually time just passes by and you fall back into old habits. At least I did. From personal experience it's my opinion they need to go harsher on 1st DUI's, some states do, but not all.

One last thing.. I agree with Jeffrey. .16 is pretty high man. Only you know you, but saying you had no issues with the field sobriety or didn't feel that drunk but still blew that high doesn't look good. Not telling you what to do, but now is the time to look at yourself and make some adjustments in your life, whatever those are, so you don't get a 2nd. Sounds like you realize that too, but make it a lasting change.

Good luck.

TheEnd

My second DUI, my BAC was .358, 4 times the legal limit and I crashed into someone. I didn't receive any jail time and its highly unlikely that you would either. That being said, I'm going to talk to you like everyone talked to me at this point. How did you get to this point? Do you have a drinking problem? Those are important questions to ask yourself, because while this may be your first DUI, you will have many subsequent ones to follow if you are not truthful with yourself.

uncorked

It depends on what state you live in, but I highly doubt you will get jail time as a first time offender. I had a DUI about 12-13 years ago and had to pay a fine, attend classes/AA and do community service work. Where I live, they allow you to drop a first DUI offense for insurance purposes (law enforcement can still see it), but if you get another one, the first counts. It's very scary but be thankful no one was hurt. Hang in there.

KiKi0615

Yes, jail time is extremely rare for first time offenders.

You will most likely get a 6-12 month license suspension with driving privileges for school, AA or work, probation for 1 year, be ordered to some AA meetings & have to get a slip signed and a weekend alcohol class.

You will get 6 points on your license so you may need to have an SR22 (high risk insurance) for a while so your rates will be high for about 2 years.

Probably the worst thing for me (I have a DUI on my record) is the fact that it stays on my record forever! I hate that!!! And not that I ever wanted to be a bus driver, truck driver, pilot, fireman or any type of driver but it pisses me off that I couldn't if I wanted to!

You can also never go to Canada if you've had a DUI. Oh well...I don't think I was gonna go anyway. Haha

Also...once you get a DUI, you are a "marked man". The odds of getting a second go way up! But you can't get a second if you don't drink! :-)

I know that probably seems overwhelming but you'll get thru it and I would be shocked if you got jail time. Just make sure you learn from this because if you get another DUI, stuff REALLY gets bad!

Good luck!!!

Dave42001

You won't do any jail time!! Listen to your Pops and seek good counsel, try to fight the case to keep your record clean.

Learn from this, do you have a problem with alcohol? Only you know.. Living a sober life is not as bad as many might think! Keep your head up go through the process and move on. If you do choose to drink don't ever drive!! Good luck!