Can't Drink.....What Now?

Once you are convicted, a condition of your 1 year ASAP program is that you are required to abstain from consuming any and all alcohol beverages during that 1 year period. You will be drug tested randomly during this time by ASAP so don't take this requirement of your probation and/or treatment period lightly. This will be difficult for some people so I am giving you some suggestions on actions you can take to help curb your desire or temptation to drink alcohol.

1. Put together a written plan of action that you will follow over the 1 year probation period. this will help organize your thoughts around what is required of you and what actions you need to take during this period. I organized my plan of action and everything associated with my DUI in a 3 ring binder.
2. Start an exercise program. One of the first items on my plan of action was to join a local fitness club and follow a consistent exercises program that includes at least 3 days of intense cardio (any exercises that gets your heart rate up). Of course, make sure you are healthy enough to start such a program. Cardio excercise causes the brain to produce chemicals that give you the same euphoric feeling as alcohol. I encourage you to research this subject for yourself. For me this has been the best replacement of my habit of cracking open a beer after work. I feel better than I have in a long time. This exercise program will have multiple benefits. You will feel better every morning, you will be more productive at work, you will have the energy to do other things that you have been putting off in your life, and you will be amazed at the positive changes in your body appearance. If you are saying to yourself you can't afford to join a fitness club, compare the small membership investment you make each month to the amount you were spending on alcohol each month. I pay $59 for my gym membership and as some of you know, you can spend this in one night drinking at a bar.
3. Start reading if you have not been doing so. If you are like me you don't have the time to read at night or you are too tired after work. I joined an audio book web site and I now spend all my driving time reading. I have read 7 full length books since my arrest. Like exercise, this is a life changer. you will feel so good about yourself when you start a consistent reading program.
4. Find an activity to do or goal you have been wanting to achieve and start spending your spare time pursuing. Idle time is not a good thing during the 1 year probation period. You need to stay busy. I have started an Internet and this blog since my DUI conviction.
5. Write out and read aloud daily positive affirmations. This will be an abstract concept for most people to grasp. These affirmations should be written in the first person, present tense. These afirmations should be developed from items in your plan of action and behaviors you are trying to change. Some examples are:

• I drink plenty of water each day.
• I can have fun without drinking alcohol.
• I feel great since I stopped drinking alcohol.
• I consistently follow my weekly exercise program.

Follow my suggestions and you will find it so much easier to endure the consequences and changes your DUI conviction has brought to your life.

Get an Attorney!!!!!

The first thing you should do after your arrest is to start your search for a DUI DWI lawyer. I take that back. The first thing you want to do after your arrest is to get out of jail. Trust me, I know its not a laughing matter. Seriously, all of your friends will want to give you legal advice. While you are sitting in jail just after your arrest the other unfortunate souls in your cell will be giving you all kinds of advice and telling you of all the legal woes you will face. Don't listen to these people they are in jail.

Make a list of five attorneys that specialize in DUI's.If you know anyone who has been arrested for a DUI, you can ask them about the attorney they hired.One of the best ways to find a good attorney is through referrals from others. Another way to find attorneys is the phone book. Once you have the list of attorneys, call and make an appointment to interview each one. Yes I did say interview because your attorney will be working for you. When I started this process the fees varied from $750 to $8,000. You may find the right attorney for you after the second or third interview but having the list of five gives you more options if you need them. On the day of your interview take all the paperwork you have collected since your arrest. This information includes at minimum: the ticket that the officer wrote at the scene and the certificate showing your BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration). Also, prior to your interview, write down everything that occurred from what you were doing prior to your arrest, the reason you were pulled, what occurred at the scene between you and the arresting officer, and all that occurred from the time you arrived at the station up through the time you were released. My attorney told me the information I provided him at the time of our interview was very important to the final outcome of my trial. After completing the interview process, I chose my attorney based on good referrals, his fee was very fair, he was very clear on what I should expect to happen at my trial, my immediate comfort level with him, and his office was within walking distance of the courthouse. I am not saying that your attorney has to be located in the jurisdiction where you were arrested, but I feel it was a plus in my case. The day of my trial, it was obvious that my attorney had a lot of experience and rapport with the prosecuter and the judge. I was very happy with my choice. He proved to be very professional and everything he told me what to expect during the initial interview was exactly the outcome of my trial. He actually sent me a letter summarizing the decision of the judge regarding my case and everything that was required of me to be in compliance with the judges decision. He even thanked me for being his client. You will find by making this first important choice, you will relieve some of the stress that is being caused by all the unknowns floating around in your mind.

Start making your list of potential attorneys now and call to make your first appointment tomorrow. You have made a poor decision. Get over it. Now it is important to accept full responsibility for what happened and start taking action.

Drunk Driving Laws - The Consequences of Being Convicted of a DUI

The penalties for being convicted in the State of Virginia for Driving Under the Influence are as follows:

• If convicted of a DUI in the state of Virginia you could be sentenced to up to 1 year in jail and/or up to a $2,500 fine.
• If convicted of a DUI, you will lose your driving priviges for 1 year. The judge will make the decision during your trial whether or not you will be issued a restricted license. This will allow you to drive back and forth to only certain places such as work. The cost of getting a restricted license is $220.
• If convicted of a DUI, you will also have to enter an acohol education program administered by the state. In the state of Virginia this program is called ASAP and it will cost you $400 when you register for the program.
• The state program may also refer you to be evaluated by an independent treatment center. I had to complete one of these independent treatment programs. This program ran for 16 weeks and consisted of two, 2 hour sessions per week at a cost of $80 per session. The total cost for this independent program was $2,560. In addition to the 2 nights per week, I was also mandated to attend at least 2 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week.
• The ASAP program runs for 10 weeks and consists of one, 2 hour session per week.

Any jail time you will have to serve is based on your BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) aka as "what you blew" at the time of your arrest. The required jail terms are as follows:

• First DUI Offender - BAC below .15 usually no jail time is required. If you blew between .15 and .2, there is a mandatory 5 day jail sentence. For a .21 BAC and higher there is a mandatory 10 day jail sentence. From the people I have talked to in my group meetings, they were able to serve the jail time during the weekends. This allowed them to work while serving their jail time but it does vary depending on individual circumsatnces.
• In addition to jail time, an ignition interlock device will have to be installed on every vehicle that is registered in the convicted person's name. This applies to offenders who blow .15 or higher. You have to blow into this device and register a negative BAC before the vehicle's engine will start. I didn't have to have one of these devices installed on my vehicle, but from what I hear, there is a cost to install the device and then a monthly charge to lease the device.
• Second and Third DUI Offender - Don't even go there. You will lose your license for 3-5 years and serve up to 5 years in prison. My blog is to help you avoid getting your first DUI and if you are convicted, to guide you through the long year that follows.


• Also, if convicted, the court will mandate that you abstain from the consumption of alcohol during the 1 year period after your conviction. This means you can drink no alcohol at all during that 1 year period. Don't mess around with this one. ASAP will do urine drug testing anytime they choose. Not many DUI offenders enetering the program know this but there is now a urine test that picks up alcohol in your system up to 80 hours after consumption. If you show a positive on a drug test, ASAP will send you back to court and the process starts all over. You could end up serving more jail time, losing your restricted license, or whatever else the judge feels is appropriate for your case. I have heard of people failing one of these tests after completing the the entire program but before the 1 year is complete and having to start all over again.