I'm screwed, I just got a DUI while driving my stock 1980 Rx-7 on I-405. Granted, I was clocked at 87 mph(obviously I should've known better than to go that fast under any condition at least on I-405), but wanna know what the bullshitty part is? I blew a .03 in the breathalizer(as you all know the legal limit in Wa is .08) but because I'm 19 that exceed's the legal limit by .01(legal limit for those under age 21 is .02). If I was 2 years older, I would've just got a hefty speeding ticket and maybe a slap on the wrist. Even more bullshitty is the fact that I had 2 beers tops and waited at least 45 minutes before I even started my car to drive home(my car takes 15 minutes to fully warm up which is exactly how long I waited). Trust me, I wouldn't even consider driving home if I felt the slightest bit intoxicated. I don't know what to do now, but I do know my car is impounded and that alone is going to cost a fortune. Basically, I think I might have no other choice than to retire from driving my rx-7 or any rx-7 for a long long time. So, if you're interested in buying a great 1980 rx-7(yellow, 5-speed, less than 20,000 miles on a rebuilt engine-including documentation, and in perfect mechanical condition) than let me know. Otherwise consider making a contribution to the "Geoff Hodo is about to go bankrupt" relief effort. Thank you for your time.

 

Do you know how many people say that before driving and then crashing into some innocent people and killing them?

Do you understand that driving is a privilege? That privilege can be taken from you any time if you violate any of the requirements for it?

Do you understand at all what you're saying with this post?

I'm sorry for your DUI and possibly losing your car but you need to rethink what you're saying and take some responsibility for your actions.

It's called growing up...

Hope you've learned your lesson. By the way, you might be able to reduce your sentencing to reckless if you go through some type of treatment program. Talk to an attorney.

 

As a minor with ANY alcohol at all in your blood you're pretty much screwed... My solution is if you are going to drink AT ALL: don't drive. I'm not gonna bash you for doing this, but YES you could have been a little smarter about it. Lessons are learned in the worst ways at times. We are all young and dumb at some point in our youth and some people unfortunately don't make it out unscathed. Good luck with your future battle. Hopefully this DOESN'T force you into bankruptcy... Had a friend who was forced to do so after he was caught street racing and his car was impounded... Had so many fines to pay and was smoking so much weed he quit paying his bills! EVERY bill he had!! But he was and is still a complete dumbass!! Not sure about you......

 

I realize that I may come off as a bit of a dumbass from my previous post. Don't get me wrong, I understand that drunk driving is in no way anything to be taken lightly. However, my point is that the only irresponsible thing I was doing last night was speeding and if I were a mere 1.5 years older I would got punished for speeding and speeding only. Now, to put things into context, I have never gotten a speeding ticket before in my life, in fact the only infraction on record as of yesterday was driving without a front license plate. The only reason I was speeding was because I was coming back from a concert, it was late and I had school early the next morning. I was confident that I was ok to drive considering I had 2 beers and I had waited nearly an hour maybe more before even getting behind the wheel and my breathalizer reading reflects that; a .03 is quite low considering it not even half the legal limit of an adult. I did make some dumb choices last night, choices which would effect me only and not innocent people because 1. it was late and the freeway was nearly deserted 2. I was in complete control of my vehicle and my driving skills were not impaired.

 

On a purely practical side - no moral judgement involved, when you have had even a single beer, never give a LEO any reason at all to pull you over (no speeding, spin outs, etc.). That beer smell will always buy you trouble (especially if you are underage).

Also, if you can afford it, get a lawyer who specializes in traffic/DUI cases. This will save you money in the long run.

 

Whether it impairs your driving or not it's too much to risk driving with ANY amount of alcohol in your system. Even if you blow less than .08 you can still get in trouble for driving with the alcohol in your system. .08 is actually a good bit of alcohol which is why it's the legal limit. If you'd like to think positive, the last 19 year old I knew who got a DUI did it coming back from Canada and totalling his car on I-5. SO he joined the ARMY to "straighten himself out" and totalled his gay motorcycle also getting a DUI shortly after joining the ARMY and was dishonerably discharged... So it could be worse, but still this kinda stuff never looks good on your record.......

Also, most people when they are under the influence of alcohol or any other drugs don't realize their driving skills are impaired... My buddy smoked some weed and went driving and while making a right turn at a "reasonable speed" crossed both lanes and plowed a fire hydrant... Luckily there was no investigation by the police to see if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but his car WAS totalled and he had to pay almost $1000 to replace the fire hydrant... Not to mention insurance consequences.....

For future reference, be a little smarter

 

regarding about sellin your car i wouldnt but hey thats how i got my 7 for $200 because my friend decided he would drive after he had been drinkin ohh well his loss my gain

 

calm down, a dui wont KILL you... you can get threw it
but requardless of what u, do GET A LAWYER.... since this was one of your first major offences u will most likly be able to get most of the **** reduced and excape with less of a fine...

alot of people get drunk driving recued to 1st degree negligent driving. or at least most of the bad things taken away...

 

damm thats kirkland for you, they give the most dui's in the state

sorry to hear that man, are they taking away your license ?

 

btw I have the number for a great lawyer in kirkland, he's friends with all the judges and got me out of a reckless.

you need to fight this as much as you possibly can, a dui will **** up your driving record so badd that its not even worth thinking about driving for the next five years at least, If it was me I would already have a lawyer picked out, its the only way to fight the system

 

No, you're wrong. The first thing you did irresponsibly was to drink AND drive. The second thing you did was drive 87MPH, which could be considered reckless driving.

Even if you were 21 years and the LEGAL limit is .08 and you blew .03, that doesn't mean you wouldn't get a DUI ticket. It's up to the officer to determine if you were intoxicated. You could still be under the limit and still get a DUI ticket.

Anyways, talk to a lawyer.

I'm not trying to bash you but understand that the things you could have done could have serious effects to not only you but others.

 

A 0.03? What a joke. I recently moved here so I don't know how things go down, so I don't have any advice to give you.

Your only mistake was going that fast when you were over the absurdly low limit of 0.03.

*edit*

Oh yeah I forgot... drinking age is 21... yeah so... you shouldn't have driven with any in your system since you're supposed to be at 0.00.

0.03 is still stupidly low, but yeah, you messed up for drinking underage and then driving.

 

How much are you going to sell the car for?

 

Yes .08 is still quite low for legal age drinkers, but .02 isn't that low for underage drinkers, I'm pretty sure other states are similar and close. However, WA has some of the harshest drunk driving laws (family has been through it a few times).

To the thread poster, try to get deferred prosecution, although I don't know if you can when you are under age. What deferred prosecution will do with your DUI is basically throw it out, give you community service and mandatory AA for a year. If you do the community service, go to your 1 AA meeting a week for a year, and don't get any other tickets for 1 or 2 (can't remember) years, it will never go on your record. In addition, you wont have to get an sr22 insurance plan. If you don't or can't go through deferred prosecution and continue to drive, expect that the sr22, at your age, to cause your insurance to cost around 300-500 a MONTH.

 

also you might have drive for a few months with rediculous-ly high (500-1000 a month) insurance rates to clean your record if you cannot get the ticket changed to asomething less extreme

 

Few months? I was on it for a few YEARS because of a family members poor choices. In the state of WA your tickets do not go off your record until 2 years of no incidents have occurred. That is normal tickets, DUI is at least the same, if not worse... I think DUI is 3 or 4 years, but I can't remember, the person was on the sr22 for about 6 years in total, with me being on it for the last 3 of it.

 

Sorry no sympathy here... the legal drinking age is 21, you knew it. YOU decided to break the law... twice (underage drinking, then speeding) and got caught. Now YOU have to pay for it!

 

Drink then drive...a mistake plain and simple.

 

under 21 = no tolerance. if you have .0000000001 in your system you're fucked. a friend of a friend just got fucked up the *** for a .02 i think it was.

 

In my opinon, I wouldnt waste money on a lawer. A public deffender will get you the same result. If its your first major offense, and you stay good for two years, you will get it dropped to a Neg 1. They only reason you would want to get a lawer is if he were going to get it dropped completely, which is very un-likely.

And yes, Drinking and Driving is wrong, but, a .03 sucks! Goodluck with The Man

 

kind of off topic but cough syrup can make you blow .08 thats sucks but you should not drink and drive esp if under the age. good luck get a lawyer be ready to pay extreme amounts for driving insurance.

 

PM me if you need help/legal advice. I've had two minor "DUI's" and know how the sytem works.

 

beers hit one person a lot harder than another, especially when you're young, that's why the law is the way it is. If you felt you were in full control, you weren't, GET IT! That's why you wre speeding, with a couple beers and young stupidity you didn't know any better. My kid always used to park his car a couple blocks away when going to a party for 3 reasons: 1: his friends didn't know he had his car so they couldn't pressure him to drive 2: if he did drink too much it would be too far to walk 3: if he didn't drink too much the walk would give him time to think and make the right decision. Soooo he never drove even with one beer. But, he did rack up a few speeding tickets (which he collaberated with his mom and hid so i wouldn't get mad at him) when he picked up a mustang against my wishes and lost his license. Subsequently I refused to "EVER" put him under my policy again, i had my wife sign a waiver with the insurance company documenting no-one under 25 would driver our vehicles and it took him 3 years walking before he could afford insurance again. Take my advice: look for a good deal on some runners and by an annual transit pass, you deserve it!















OOOOOH, I forgot to mention.........IDIOT

 

Wow, shitty spelling, I should have proof read that 1!

 

i would take the advise of others. get the DUI off your record.
Do what ever it takes but DO IT.

keep the car find a way, get a loan of something, bed for money at your school
while holding a picture of your car. do something the longer you wait the more
money you will have to pay who ever is holding your car.