Last night I was on an ordinary night out. My headlight gave out (for no reason…and they are expensive to replace…yay).A cop pulls me over and could tell I had been drinking. I refused the field sobriety test but accepted the in station breath test. I was told my license would be suspended for longer if I refused(true). I thought my BAC was low enough to pass, so I did it. I blew around twice the legal limit. Instant DUI. Not just DUI, but aggravated DUI due to how high I blew. There was a girl there going through the same thing and we both got taken together from the station to the jail. Hated the ride to the station in cuffs and the ride to jail. Hated everything about the encounter with the police. I was finally booked into jail (which took hours) and put into some open dorm type cell with people with various charges (mostly domestic violence and drugs). Seemed like an incredibly boring place. Meanwhile my car was inpounded and I had to pay 700 to get it out plus 500 in bail that I wont get back as it will be used for court fees. Keeps getting worse the more I think about it My parents had to come drive my car for me because my license was revoked and confiscated on the spot. I no longer have any form of ID. Im currently unemployed so I cant get a hardship license. That means I cant renew the title for my car nor have it parked outside. So Im not sure how I will keep it. Having to lose your right to drive sucks in and of itself, but is even worse when you have to lose your car as well due to title issues. It also means everyone is going to probably find out. Even when I do get a job, which will be hard with no car, I will struggle to be able to afford insurance with a DUI on record. On top of that I have a newly broken computer (making apply for jobs harder if not nearly impossible with no car to get to a library either) and Ill probably not only go through my savings but also a good chunk of a nest egg my parents saved up for me. Feeling pretty awful. Yeah I made a mistake and it would be 1000x times worse if I had an accident, but wow this is still really really incredibly bad. Im sure there are also some fines and penalties imposed by the court on top of what I am dealing with, particularly if I can’t get this reduced from an “aggravated DUI” to even just a normal DUI. The more I think about it, the more devastating repecussions that I realize. Had lots of hopes and dreams for the next phase of my life that I don’t see how are going to happen soon.

This definitely isn’t an ideal situation and I’m sorry you’re going through it, but I can’t say the consequences weren’t deserved. They fit the situation. Drinking and driving is incredibly dangerous and while you may think you’re okay, there’s a good chance you’re not, especially if you’ve had more than one or two drinks. You see tons of people who think they’re okay to drive and then they fail the sobriety tests. I know Ubers are expensive but it seems as if it’s a lot more expensive to get your car out of impound and pay for bail, AND to have consequences like no ID in the meantime. Can you borrow money from your parents to get a non-driver ID in the meantime?

If your drinking is getting to the point where you’re getting in trouble with the law I STRONGLY urge you to get help from either an individual therapist or some type of rehab program. The judge may even be more lenient on you if you say you’re accepting help and truly mean it.