You don’t want to be apprehended and charged with DUI in Georgia. Their laws are just about ironclad.
Driving while under the influence is, unfortunately, more common that we would like it to be. For some reason, people who drink and drive think they are immortal. They also think nothing will happen to them and that it is safe to drive. It is not safe to drive and the statistics show a high number of deaths related to those who drink and drive – killing themselves and killing others.
DUI in Georgia is no picnic. Usually, the repercussions are losing your drivers certificate and driving privileges. Yes, you can certainly ask for a new one, but you will need a good DUI Atlanta criminal defense lawyer to get this done. He or she will be able to help you through the administrative driver’s license postponement process. Unfortunately, that also means you will be cited in one of two ways: with a per se violation or a less safe driver violation.
For the less safe driver violation, you are dealing with the police officer’s judgment at the time of your apprehension. In other words, there isn’t any scientific verification of the officer’s assessment that you were DUI. Their notes may show your speech was slurred, you reeked of booze, couldn’t walk a straight line, etc.
On the other hand, the per se violation is a proven fact; the fact that your blood alcohol content was over the official limit. What is the permissible limit in Georgia? In drivers over the age of 21, it’s .08 percent. Those over that limit face a variety of penalties such as 24 hours to 12 months in jail for a first offense. There may also be fines involved ranging from $600 to $1,000 and you may find yourself serving, at the very least, 40 hours of public service. There are a variety of other penalties, all of which need to be discussed with your Atlanta criminal defense lawyer in order to get the best possible outcome for your case.
Most criminal defense lawyers will tell you right upfront not to talk to the police and to say nothing until you make contact with a lawyer. The only person who needs to hear the whole story about what you were doing drinking and driving is the lawyer.
The main reason for this is that if you voluntarily start talking about why you were out drinking and what you were doing, this information will wind up in court later. If you do say things you were better off not saying, you significantly hamper your lawyer’s ability to help you mitigate the charges or get them thrown out. Also, it is best to remember that if you choose to continue to drink and drive and rack up charge after charge, the penalties get increasingly stiffer. Ultimately, you could have an ignition interlock device on every vehicle you own.
Think twice about drinking and driving in Georgia for two reasons; if you’re caught, your record will dog you for years to come and drinking and driving kills. Do you really want to become another DUI statistic?
Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.
