While the results of drinking and driving are well known, driving under the influence citations are often unclear.
According to a statistic Mothers Against Drunk Driving developed, almost 18,000 people were killed in alcohol- related accidents in the United States in 2003.
The consequence of drinking and driving is a DUI citation.
Then what?
Bob Roberts, West Virginia University Police Chief, said there were 21 DUI arrests in Morgantown from September 2008 to April 2009, which is up from last year.
Roberts said that if someone is arrested in Morgantown for a first offence DUI they will spend 24 hours in the Dodgridge county jail. In order to get out, they will need to post bail, between $250-500 and then find their own ride home.
Then there will be court fees, which are varied depending on the Magestry court’s discretion.
Roberts said generally the driver looses his or her license for three to six months.
In order to retrieve their license, the driver must travel to Valley Health Care in Clarksburg, W.Va. on a Friday morning and pay $250.
Then, they must go through a series of classes and evaluations for 18 hours, which is split into three hours once a week and costs $180. During the evaluations, random drug and alcohol urine tests are issued, and they cost $15 per sample.
Then eight to 10 group therapy sessions are required, for $51 per session. The sessions are available through Valley Health Care.
If additional family and group counseling is needed, it is available for $80 a session.
After all of the court fees, medical and physiological treatments and other expenses, someone with a DUI can expect their car insurance to approximately triple.
The approximate costs of the different consequences involved in getting a DUI
What happens after multiple DUI’s?
If a person receives a second offence DUI, they will spend more time in jail and have higher fees, in addition to more counseling and therapy.
Roberts said in most cases, the third DUI results in a loss of a driver’s license for a year or more, and possibly up to six months in jail.
Missy Pforr, interim coordinator for the health promotions program, is making it an urgent issue to inform WVU students about the consequences of DUI’s.
Pforr said many students do not know that it is the law that if an intoxicated friend drives someone else’s car, the owner of the car will also get a DUI, whether or not they are a passenger.
“A lot of times people don’t know. It’s not about who’s had the least to drink, it’s about who’s had nothing,” Pforr said.
She also said her goal is to create “informed consumers.”
“Once you know the consequences, you can make an educated choice,” she added.
A suggestion Pforr had to prevent drunk driving is if someone is supposed to be the driver but chooses to drink, take their keys so they do not make a poor, intoxicated choice.
Edited by Liesl Crowder
