DUI Lawyers,,DUI Laws,Penalties

Archive for April, 2006

Being charged with a DUI, driving under the influence (of drugs or alcohol) or a DWI, driving while intoxicated, is a very serious situation. The possibility exists that either charge could affect one’s future. They can result in substation fines, loss of a driver’s license, have implications for future employment, increase insurance premiums, and in some cases, can result in serving time in jail.

When charged with a DUI or DWI, it is important to find someone that will understand what steps must be taken to successfully navigate through the legal processes. A lawyer or attorney can be a great help in these situations. This lawyer will defend the person involved in the situation, and will make sure that his or her rights are protected throughout the whole process.

In the state of Minnesota, a blood alcohol of 0.08 or higher will allow you to be convicted of a DUI charge. Although this is when one can be convicted, it does not mean that driving is impaired prior to this point. Driving skills are affected from the first drink of alcohol. The ability to react, pay attention, maintain coordination, and make good choices are affected more and more with each drink.

Unfortunately, there is no specific number of drinks that can alert you when you are over 0.08. Wine, beer, mixed drinks, and hard liquor all have different percentages of alcohol. It is more important to keep track of the total amount of alcohol that is entering your system over a certain timeframe rather than just counting drinks. A few beers will have a different affect on a person than a few shots of hard liquor. This number is also not the same for everyone, however. Blood alcohol levels are also influenced by gender, age, weight, medications, the amount and type of food that has recently been eaten, and other factors.

If one does end up being pulled over for DUI or DWI by police, a series of tests may be administered, including a blood, breath, or urine test. If these tests are refused, it is considered a Gross Misdemeanor, which can lead to removal of your license for at least year.

When a DWI conviction does happen, there are a number of legal and financial consequences, which vary depending on how many offenses one has been charged with. For the first DWI offense, it is usually a Misdemeanor, which is punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or ninety days in jail. A court may order you to attend an alcohol treatment program, and maybe revoke your license for at least 90 days. This is the case if the driver’s blood alcohol reading is under 0.20%. If the reading is over 0.20%, or the person is convicted with a child in the car, it is considered a Gross Misdemeanor, which can lead to a maximum fine of $3,000 and/or a year in jail. If a second offense is committed within ten years, it is also considered a Gross Misdemeanor.

When a third offense is committed within ten years of two prior offenses, one will either have a minimum of 90 days in jail, or an intensive probation program which will include at least six consecutive days in jail as well. Police will most likely take a person’s car away at this point, and a lawyer will be needed to help deal with financial consequences of this seizure. After three offenses in Minnesota, the state will also be likely to cancel one’s driver’s license as this person is seen as a threat to public safety.

The fourth offense within ten years of three prior offenses will result in a Felony. This conviction will result in at least three years in prison and a fine of not less than $14,000. A judge my decide to reduce this three year term, but there is still a mandatory sentence of at least 180 days in jail, 30 of which must be served consecutively.

Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a very serious situation. Not only is the driver’s life in danger, but also the driver’s passengers, and any other car or pedestrian that happens to be on the road during that time. The results of a DWI conviction can lead to fairly severe penalties. Ideally, one would not place him or her self in a situation where one can be convicted, meaning to not drive while under the influence. When one does happen to be pulled over and charged with this offense, however, a lawyer who will be able to protect one’s rights and will be able to lead a person through the legal process can be an invaluable asset.

The information you obtain from this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Advertising is a multi-billionaire business. Ads could be seen anywhere nowadays; in the subway, on the TV, on the public transportation, even on the benches of the pubic parks.

In 2008 anyone could take part in the advertising and make an extra income.

Several companies across the world offer Free Cars or Getting paid for driving your own car – if you agree to advertise.

So how does it work?

Get free Car. Advertising companies offer brand new cars to almost anyone who is willing to drive – however, there are certain conditions;

- The Car is Covered with advertising decals (fully or partially)

- The Car is paid by the advertiser

- Car’s maintenance is paid by the advertiser

- Gas is paid by the driver

- Insurance is paid by the driver

You have certainly seen BMW’s Mini Cooper advertising Red Bull. Snickers often chooses Jeep to advertise their chocolate bars. In some cases these advertising companies even offer you to drive a Hummer or a very economic Smart.

Get paid for driving your car – the principle is the same as described above. The advertiser covers your car with vinyl decals and you get paid from $200 to $3000 a month for simply driving your car to work or wherever else you drive it.

The decals are relatively easy to take off the car and do not damage your car’s paint.

If you decide to get paid for driving, you must NOT take off the decals and you might be required to drive a minimum amount of mileage on a daily base – which is normal because the ads must be seen – this is the point of advertising.

Unfortunately this opportunity is not available across the globe. Only residents of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and Spain have this kind of service available to them. Certainly advertising companies in other countries will pick up on this practice, but at this moment only the countries listed above offer free cars.

If you want to get free car or get paid for driving a car, you must submit an application to one of the advertisers. The companies usually require a one time small fee of under $50, there are two (2) main reasons for charging the fee; 1) The company wants to make sure they are dealing with a serious applicant, 2) The fee is used to pay off the expenses such as phone calls, mailing costs… etc.

Remember, if the fee is recurring or over $50 – it might be a scam. Serious company will not ask you to keep on paying them so they could eventually pay you – this simply doesn’t make since. The same business model is used at the modeling agencies – you pay a one time fee and the agency distributes your name to all the other agencies who might be interested.

What Can I do to qualify?

If you would like to get a free car or get paid for driving, make sure that:

- You are at least 18 years old

- You have a valid drivers license

- You do not have DUI (Driving Under Influence) or other criminal records

- You are a citizen or permanent resident of USA, Canada, UK, France or Spain.

You must take note that sometimes you do not have a choice of a vehicle but most of the time companies allow you to chose the advertising you would like to display.

Driving under influence can be defined as driving when a drug “renders the driver incapable of driving safely” or “makes driver impaired”. Drug/alcohol abuse affects perception, cognition, attention, balance, coordination, reaction time and other abilities required for safe driving. The effects of specific drugs of abuse differ depending on their mechanisms of action, the amount consumed, the history of the user, and other factors. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.



The facts about driving while intoxicated:



· According to NHTSA (The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) reports, in 2006 more than 17,000 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

· Drugs are used by 10 to 22 percent of drivers involved in crashes, often in combination with alcohol.

· According to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 10.2 million people age 12 and older reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs.

· Driving under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol was associated with age. In 2006, an estimated 7.3 percent of youth age 16 drove under the influence. This percentage steadily increased with age to reach a peak of 31.8 percent among young adults age 22. Beyond the age of 22, these rates showed a general decline with increasing age.

· Number of young abusive drivers is increasing. It corresponds to 13% in 2006, the rate was highest among young adults age 18 to 25. It is 4.2 percent of the population age 12 and older, similar to the rate in 2005 (4.3 percent), but lower than the rate in 2002 (4.7 percent).

. Also in 2006, among persons age 12 and older, males were nearly twice as likely as females (17.6 percent versus 9.3 percent) to drive under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol in the past year.

The facts that, nearly 40% Americans are involved in an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash in their lifetime and over 50% of US drivers arrested for drunk driving are repeat offenders, portraits the critical scenario of drugged driving. And also driving under the influence of illicit drugs aggravates the road safety. To control this menace, people should voluntarily take the responsibility of safe driving.

“Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded in 1980 by Candy Lightner, whose daughter was tragically killed by a drunk driver who was a repeat offender. The goal of MADD was to reduce drunk driving traffic fatalities and the organization has been highly effective in raising public disapproval of drunk driving. The proportion of traffic fatalities that are alcohol-related has dropped dramatically, in part because of MADD’s good efforts. MADD is a single-issue non-profit anti-drunk driving organization in the United States and with a branch in Canada (see MADD Canada). MADD is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Irving, Texas.

MADD’s Goal: Is it Neo-Prohibitionist?

Mothers Against Drunk Driving stigmatizes light or moderate alcohol consumption, even when it isn’t associated with either being underage or driving. For example:

1. MADD sells a graphic showing two empty glasses of alcohol surrounded by the words assault, drowning, burns, rape and suicide.

2. MADD sells a graphic that equates beer with heroin by depicting a beer bottle as a drug syringe.

3. MADD sells a television ad insisting that “”if you think there’s a difference”" between heroin and alcohol, “”you’re dead wrong.”"

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has clearly become not simply anti-drunk driving or even anti-impaired driving, but anti-alcohol. MADD’s temperance orientation expresses itself in many ways, as seen in Is MADD Neo-Prohibitionist?

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) began with the admirable goal of reducing drunk driving traffic fatalities by educating the nation about the devastation caused by drunk drivers. For the first 15 years, this strategy paid off: MADD’s public relations campaigns played a key role in changing the nation’s attitude about drunk driving, resulting in a huge drop-off in drunk driving deaths. MADD was so successful that it reached its goal for 2000 (to reduce alcohol-related deaths by 20%) in 1997.

MADD’s campaign to make adult beverages more expensive through drastically increased taxes is another major tactic in their war on responsible drinking. MADD says these tax hikes are a way to reduce underage drinking — but lacks real evidence that taxes are more likely to reduce underage drinking than moderate consumption by responsible adults.

MADD founder Candy Lightner has broken ties with the group. In 2002, she told the Washington Times, “[MADD] has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned … I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving.”

In the 1980s, MADD had success in helping change public attitudes and laws regarding driving under the influence (DUI). Since 1980 (the year Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded), alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased by about 44 percent, from over 30,000 to under 17,000 and MADD has helped save over 300,000 lives.

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