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Why You’ll Keep Paying The Price For Years After a DUI

Most people know about the initial costs of getting a DUI in Baltimore. A few of the most notorious are traffic ticket penalties, bail, attorney costs, and court fees. What many do not understand is the fact that most people that get a DUI end up with expenses that last for years, if not decades. Below, a dui lawyer in Baltimore will address the most significant of these hidden costs.

drinking while driving

Lack of Transportation

One of the likely results of your DUI will be having your license suspended for some time. If it is your second violation, you might lose it for a much longer period or have it revoked entirely. No matter what, you’ll need to use alternate means of transportation in that time. One option is to use public transit, which means using a method that is notoriously slow. In this case, you’ll pay for your DUI with your time. The second option is using rideshare and taxis, which can get expensive quickly. The result is you paying a premium for getting from place to place.

Loss of Job

Perhaps the most tragic result of a DUI is losing your job. While this doesn’t always happen, it occurs enough to mention. You are especially likely to find yourself in this situation if you have a driving job, such as operating a taxi or pizza delivery. If you work in a different field, your employer still might find out and terminate you. Not only will this decrease your wages in the short term, but you have to start over again at a new workplace that might not promote you as quickly as your old one.

Future Jobs

There are two ways in which your future jobs could be in jeopardy due to a DUI. The first is through background checks. Most employers conduct this form of due diligence, and when they do, they’ll find that you have a DUI in your past. While this infraction might not be a big deal to some, others will take it seriously and pull you out of the running. The second way you might be affected is if your current job terminates you, as we talked about above. If this happens, you will have to field questions about why you were fired when you interview for new jobs.

Taking Out Credit

credit report

Another thing that surprises those with a DUI on their record is the fact that banks and other credit companies sometimes do background checks. While you’d think that they would only be concerned with your credit history, many go through an added form of screening by looking at your legal past. If they see a DUI, they might reject your application or raise your interest rate.

Insurance Costs

Every time you get into a car accident and make an insurance claim, your monthly costs go up. Thus, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that a DUI does the same thing. Though you can clean up your record with good behavior, it might take up to five years to do so. All that time you’ll be paying high premiums for a mistake you made years ago.

Injury Compensation

If a police officer pulls you over, finds out that you are drunk, and gives you a DUI, you don’t have to worry about injury compensation. Unfortunately, many drivers reveal their intoxication only after getting into an accident. If the result of that collision is an injury to another party, you could be on the hook for injury compensation. The benefits you may have to pay out include emergency medical bills, future doctor visits, physical therapy, lost wages, emotional suffering, and much more. Depending on the severity of the damages, you and your insurance company could be paying for years or decades after the accident.

While you likely didn’t need any more reasons to resist the temptations of drunk driving, we hope that this list provided a bit more clarity on just how expensive a DUI can be. Unfortunately, mistakes still happen, and you could end up with one of these infractions. If you do, the best way to handle it is by hiring a DUI law expert that will fight for your rights and get you the most lenient punishment possible.

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