LifeIsCake

Hello all. I am on my 129th day of sobriety, AGAIN. This is only the 2nd time since I started drinking five years ago that I've had this many days under my belt. I feel that I'm doing very well with my sobriety this time since I've had time to dedicated to it full time. I've not been working since August 2010. I received my 2nd DUI in March and lost my license for a year in July. This coming July I will have a restricted license for another two years.

My question is......Are we as alcoholics and DUI offenders forever punished for our bad choices and mistakes? I can't get a job now because everyone does background checks. If they don't do one they ask about transportation to and from work. I can get to and from work but I don't think I should have to explain why I don't own a car right now or have a license. It's very frustrating.

Does anyone have advice for this? I would appreciate any input.

Dee74

Hi LifeisCake

I don't drive so I've never had an DUI, so you can discount my opinion if you like.

I think it's better to think of it as consequences for the decisions we made rather than punishments tho.

I know many folks here with DUIs who kept trying and found employment where it didn't matter.

I hope you can do the same

D

Kadybug

Yeah, I agree with what Dee said about it being a consequence rather than anything else, especially when whatever you're thinking of it as makes you feel like a "victim". But, to answer your question, it does get better.

I got three DUI's in less than 10 years and spent time in prison for the 3rd (felony) DUI. I am currently on parole, and I get to have random UA's, an interlock in my car (once I got permission to drive), and an alcohol monitor. These things are consequences of my actions. And yes, prospective employers do background checks, and it's definitely a problem when you have a felony on your record - but it's really best to be honest and tell them what they're going to find on the background check, and give your side of the story (again, be honest) - and sooner or later you'll meet up with an employer who's willing to give you a chance. Might even be in recovery him/herself.

Regardless though - and I have every confidence in this, because it's happened with me - whoever the prospective employer is will NOT hire you if you're still drinking, AND will respect you for being honest. More importantly, you will respect yourself for admitting that the consequences of your actions are your responsibility.

LexieCat

"Punished forever" is when you drunkenly cause an accident that takes someone's life.

So, no, you are not being "punished forever".

You are paying the consequences of your own actions. To go three years without full driving privileges is hardly a draconian response. The State would like to have some assurance that you won't repeat the same "mistake" for the third time.

Focus on your recovery and this is the last time you will have to deal with this.

NobleCause

I get your frustration. My DUI left me branded a felon, and that puts all sorts of limitations on me. I was lucky to have a job at the time and an employer awesome enough to stick by me thru the ordeal, but if I hadn't had those things in place, it would have been a much steeper hole to climb out of. That said, some companies & industries on the whole are less concerned with criminal records (provided they are non-violent) than others, so if it's possible, maybe you could research work that's not related to driving, caretaking, etc. As for employers asking how you'd get to work, I'd think your mode of transport wouldn't matter so much as your honest guarantee that you can get there on time everyday.

It will require more work of you to move ahead with the DUI's than it would've otherwise, but you can overcome it. Whenever I get frustrated or hopeless about the fact that I can't drive for another few years or travel internationally or even vote, I try to remember how lucky I am to even still be alive, and how much worse off the victims of my accident have it. Doesn't sound like anyone was harmed in your DUI's, and that in itself is something to be hugely grateful for.

sleepie

I have no DUI experience however I do want to say hooray for your stretch of abstinence from alcohol

Snarf

Though my second DUI (received last March, sentenced and lost license in September) has certainly complicated things in my life, and I'm sure it will for years down the road, I am so thankful for it because it was the catalyst that led to me completely changing my life. Had I not been arrested that night, I likely would've kept drinking, and there's a very real chance that I would have caused even larger problems in my life.

There have been times when I've wondered about how future prospective employers will look at my record, but since I've stopped drinking I've learned to put everything in God's hands and trust that he will provide for me. So if I don't get that job I apply for because of my arrest record, I'll have to trust that God has another, better, one lined up for me.