DUI costs can add up in unexpected ways
Pocatello police arrested over 200 people for driving under the influence in 2014, but the impacts don’t stop once the arrest is made.
Law enforcement says it’s important to remember that a DUI isn’t just drinking and driving. It includes drugs of any kind that inhibit your ability to drive, not just illegal drugs but prescriptions as well.
“Driving is a privilege,” said Lt. Paul Manning, who works in support services with the Pocatello Police. “It’s not a right. And I think people sometimes lose sight of that fact. When you sign your driver’s license, when you first obtain it, that means you acknowledge the Implied Consent Law.”
That law means that you give an officer permission to get a sample of breath or blood from you to determine if you’re driving impaired.
“If you refuse to give that sample your license will be suspended,” Manning said.
It means an automatic suspension of one year, along with a $250 fine.
Conviction can also cost you thousands of dollars, depending on whether it’s your first, second or third offense, and how close together those offenses occur. But there are other ways that a DUI can affect your pocketbook, if you even get to keep your license.
“For a DUI, it (an insurance premium) goes up about 70 to 80 percent,” said Tim Stronks of Farm Bureau Insurance. “Depending on the company, it could even double.”
With enough offenses you might be required to get SR-22 insurance, or safety responsibility insurance to make sure your vehicle is covered at all times, and it can be expensive.
Furthermore, it stays on your insurance record for three to five years.
“You pretty much just have to let it run its course,” Stronks said. “And then keep your nose clean. Don’t speed, don’t get any other tickets or accidents.”
You can also be required you to install a breathalyzer ignition lock in your car, and your car won’t start if it detects alcohol on your breath. Police say the best way to avoid any of the consequences is not to drive you’ve consumed anything that inhibits you.
Want to know more about Idaho’s Implied Consent Law? Follow this link for Consent Law information (bit.ly/13NHeS3), this link for SR-22 information (bit.ly/1wM4Kpw) and this link for Idaho State Police’s basics of penalties for a DUI: bit.ly/1EX08Y0.
