Is DUI A Criminal Offense? - Find Out Today
At least once in your life, you might find yourself leaving a party or a family gathering of sorts quite tipsy and a little under your usual dexterity. You'd think that there is no harm in driving because your house is only a few miles away and the road you are taking is one of the safest in town.
However, when it is just your luck, something comes running across the road like a ferret or a rabbit and you suddenly swerve, and collide with incoming cars that are driving within the speed limit, on the right side of the road. Now you have a problem because you will most definitely be questioned by the responding authorities who will be very interested to find out if you are driving under the right circumstances. Needless to say, you will be asked to breathe in on the alcohol breath tester and you will then be charged with a DUI offense.
You might be wondering, is DUI a criminal offense? Is it something that you need to thoroughly prepare for with a legal counsel and a line of defense? For all intents and purposes, driving under the influence is a very serious offense and as such, it entails punishment that could be anywhere from suspension of driver's license, paying of hefty fines, community service, or incarceration.
It depends on which State you have committed the offense, the gravity of damaged that you have caused, and the number of offenses in your tab. If it is your first offense, and there is no great damage to persons as well as property, you might get off without so much as a warning and a ticket.
So is DUI a criminal offense? Yes. For all intents and purposes, it is a criminal offense and if there happens to be inadvertent death in the accident that you caused, you can be held liable for it and face additional charges in court.
If there are deaths involving the road mishap you were involved in, there is a very good chance that you will face manslaughter charges, in which case you will need a very good criminal defense lawyer to represent you in the court of law. When you face criminal charges, the punishment will surely be more than just the payment of fines and community service.
Aside from a stint in prison, you may also be compelled by the courts to pay damages to the victims of the accident.
Driving while intoxicated is one of the top causes of road accidents all over the world which is why there are steps taken in order to have a no tolerance policy for this type of offense because of the gravity of the consequences when it occurs. There have been and there will still be thousands, even millions of innocent lives that are at stake and the people from law enforcement agencies cannot warn people enough against drinking and driving. Responsibility comes at a very high price these days and apparently, so does the lack of it.
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