A lot of people believe that driving under the influence or DUI is just one of those unfortunate incidents that only affect under aged or immature drinkers. Though 34% of DUI related arrests and accidents are caused by under aged drivers that drink, adults over the age of 22 are reported to cause more DUI incidents every year. This means that despite constant claims that under aged drivers are most likely to have DUI’s, older adults who have children, are married and own a house, and have a decent stable job, are the most prone to DUI arrests.
But Can DUI Happen To You?
In any marriage where both or one partner consumes alcohol, driving under the influence can happen. No one who drinks and then gets behind the wheel are exempted from the chance of DUI as there are plenty of random sobriety checkpoints today. Sadly, most people believe that DUI only happens to other people who are lawbreakers, risk takers and alcoholics. This can make them feel complacent and decide to still continue to drive intoxicated.
Just because you are older and live a responsible hard working life, does not mean that you have a better chance of escaping DUI. The truth is, as a married person with children, you have more to lose compared to a teenager known to make critical judgment errors. Your life can change in an instant, especially when you or your spouse is killed in an accident.
How DUI Affects Marriage And Your Life
Driving under the influence can affect your marriage and life in a few ways, but the consequences trigger a ripple effect, thus resulting in an immense negative impact.
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Your Children
How do you explain to your children that mommy or daddy had to spend some time jail and now they can not be driven by one of you? Children tend to develop feelings of anger, shame, spiteful and resent towards law authorities, but these feelings can also be directed towards their parents. As such, DUI can steal your credibility as a parent and will you be prepared for that to happen?
Moreover, children will also be at risk of copying the behavior of their parents and end up becoming just like their parents making the same mistakes. Though having a drink or two in front of children is not harmful, excessive drinking leading to alcohol abuse is. If one of you gets behind a wheel intoxicated with your children as passengers, what would you do if there was an accident that injured your children or even killed them? According to the NHTSA, half of the reported DUI related accidents involve children as passengers.
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Your Partnership
When one or both partners often drink in excess, relationship issues can develop. In every marriage, the actions and decisions made of one can have drastic effects on the other. If alcohol abuse is a problem in a marriage, there can be a lack of communication, trust and respect.
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Your Social Lives
Have you considered how you would explain the DUI to your friends? Do not think you can hide it, because they can find out about it through the local paper or news that lists recent arrests. Your friends will then start asking questions and having to answer them can be very embarrassing, especially when they notice other changes in your life that are a result of the DUI effects.
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Your Finances
“It was your money; part of your retirement, your emergency money, money you didn’t want to spend–except love won out. Your money was a nonrefundable fee for the bond. You may have also put up significant collateral, like your house, to guarantee the bail bond” says www.bailbondsdirect.com/ .Do you have enough money in the bank for the DUI costs? Can you put up your house for bail money? A DUI can cost you between $2,500 and $5,000, and more if an accident with injuries is involved and a lawsuit filed. You and your spouse can lose everything you own, then how can you survive?
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Your Career
A DUI can also compromise your job, especially when your job requires you to disclose your DUI to your employer. It can affect your employment status and lead to embarrassment in the work place or even get you terminated from the job. When you try to apply at another business, they may ask you about the DUI that showed up on their routine background check. As such, the DUI might not affect your future employment, but it can also prevent you from getting a decent well paying job.
Citations:
- Photographed By: phaewilk
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License: Royalty Free or iStock
source: http://mrg.bz/WllY60
Valerie Howards is a freelance writer specializing in criminal cases, bail bonds, the latest apps and devices used in legal issues and offers legal information about sex crimes.