Don't Drink And Drive - The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
04/16/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

Forget the morality of it - as an attorney, I can explain to you the ugly consequences of drinking and driving. And the reality of it is that you really shouldn't do it. In the podcast, I explain why.

I've represented more than a few people who have been arrested for drinking and driving and the costs those clients have incurred went far beyond what they had to pay me. Most were shocked by how expensive it was - in money they paid out and the effect the conviction had on their lives.

Here, in Lehto's Law XXVII I outline all of the negative ways the drunk driving conviction will impact your life. And I briefly talk about why these charges are so difficult to fight these days.

I hate to preach but this topic really does boil down to one sentence: Don't Drink and Drive. And here's why.

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DISCUSSION (14)

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 09:05

yeah I caught mine 12 years ago, on my birthday, when someone who was supposed to be driving ended up not being reliable to not drink. Ugly as hell. Knocked 6 street signs down and ran from the fuzz on 3 flat tires. Then was an utter prick to the cop - telling him where he should be blowing on things and such. Not a proud moment, but since I luckily didn't kill or hurt anyone, a good learning one. He only wrote me for the DWI for some reason. I didn't drink a drop for a full year plus after that crap went down, I think it is why I live in a town where I can walk anywhere now, so I am never tempted to take the risk. Sage words, I will listen to this in a bit Steve. And yeah, it is stupid expensive

DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!

SteveLehto > 505Turbeaux
04/16/2015 at 09:08

Thanks for the note. I've decided that there is no reason to even bother with the right and wrong of drinking and driving. The sheer cost should be enough to deter anyone from doing it.

And you're lucky to be alive!

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 09:10

I knew that as soon as I woke up in the waiting room of the police station with a bunch of cops laughing at me, and it took me a full 30 minutes to remember why I was there

Opposite Locksmith > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 09:24

reason #7 why I haven't gotten around to try drinking yet

SteveLehto > Opposite Locksmith
04/16/2015 at 09:33

Not a bad way to look at it.

crowmolly > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 09:34

The other deterrent is when you are forced to plant a friend.

SteveLehto > crowmolly
04/16/2015 at 09:39

That's the ultimate deterrent. There was so much more I could have discussed but this is the stuff that affects everyone who gets busted.

Think of the legal ugliness that follows when the driver is charged for the death resulting from the DUI-crash.

Bearded Bastard > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 13:21

for starters, it's terribly deeply, saddening that people don't get it. Even people who do get it, they make a mistake, or get so down, and they feel that drinking will solve their problems and then they drive. I just don't see how anyone can ever even do it.

Not even for the costs of insurance, or the fees. The long term effects of drinking and driving, and being caught, are astronomically high.

The majority of people in the workforce, want to work high hour, high net pay, high level of labor work, need drivers licenses, and a good record, to get the jobs, EVEN IF THEY DONT NEED TO DRIVE, if they are in 5 man crews, you need to have the clean record. You don't have that, you can't get the job, and you are limited to lower paying jobs.

I had two speeding tickets on my record in 3 years, and my prospective employer wanted nothing to do with me, like I had just come out of the human trafficking trade, I managed to insure myself, and use my own truck instead for work. Had I not been able to get that job ( or 5 others that were the same but wouldn't allow me to charge my own vehicle) I would be working dead end labor. There was nothing else at the time. The amount of income lost because of drunk driving? Which in Alberta stays on your driving record for 10 years, you could buy a house with the difference.

Lastly, why people even bother driving to go out anymore. You see how many people die from drunk drivers. I just look at people who complain about the new limits (0.05 in many areas) and wonder why they even care. Drink at home if you want to drink at dinner.

Bearded Bastard > Opposite Locksmith
04/16/2015 at 13:24

yep, I've had drinks, but I don't particularly like beers, and mixes are so much higher in content anyways, I just steer clear. Don't drink to get wasted, drink to have something to drink. And it doesn't need to be alcohol.

SteveLehto > Bearded Bastard
04/16/2015 at 13:38

I hear you. I could easily have done an hour on this but I think that the points I covered are the ones that people (who don't get how wrong it is) are likely to understand.

Trust me: The people I have watched go through this process were all very sorry after.

Bearded Bastard > SteveLehto
04/16/2015 at 14:33

Yeah, I think the piece definitely sent home the major point, especially about rehabilitation classes afterwards, people have no idea how eye opening AA, drug rehab, or even specialized driving courses are until it's too late and they are being forced to attend.

have you handled any cases where someone died because of a drunk driver?

SteveLehto > Bearded Bastard
04/16/2015 at 14:37

No, I have only handled a bunch of first offenses and they were almost always for friends of friends or former clients. I never advertised that I handled these types of cases. I think I may have done one or two second offenses but nothing beyond that.

Baron von Sarcasm > SteveLehto
04/17/2015 at 11:24

For years I've represented indigent defendants charged with felony DWI's — felonies because the accused has multiple prior DWI convictions or there was great bodily injury/death by vehicle, or both. I'd prefer see a murder case come across my desk these days.

SteveLehto > Baron von Sarcasm
04/17/2015 at 11:29

Yes. Talk about an unsympathetic case.