Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol will result in severe restrictions on your freedoms, as well as decrease your bank account. If you are pulled over for suspected driving while under the influence and have a blood alcohol content of .08, you will be arrested for a DUI. If you are a commercial driver or a driver under the age of 21, you will face an even stricter BAC limitation. If you make the choice to drive under the influence, here are the penalties and punishments that you will be facing.
First DUI Offense
A first DUI conviction will mean that you will have your license suspended for a period of at least 30 days and to have your license reinstated, you will have to undergo drug/alcohol assessment or treatment, as well as pay a license reinstatement fee. A jail sentence of at least 5 days will be required, although this can increase to a time period of at least 1 year, depending upon the aggravating factors that were involved in your charge. Fees will be at least $1000 and this amount will be increase exponentially if you were driving with a minor in the car, as will your license suspension and your jail sentence.
Second DUI Offense
Oklahoma does not have a specific lookback period on convictions, but a second DUI conviction within a time period of ten years will result in a felony charge and more severe penalties. A six months license suspension will be mandated, as well as the installation of an ignition interlock device on the car that you won. A minimum of one year in jail will be mandated and this time can be increased to up to five years, depending upon whether you had a child in the vehicle or not. Fines will not be over $2500 and this will not include the costs of mandated five day residential treatment or other costs that are associated with your court fees, reinstatement fees, or the costs that are associated with fulfilling your sentence.
Third DUI Offense
A third DUI conviction will result in a license suspension of three years and while you can apply for license reinstatement after a year, you will have to have an ignition interlock device installed. As far as jail time, you will be facing a minimum of one year up to a maximum of ten years in jail. Your jail sentence and your license suspension will be doubled if you have a child under the age of 18 in the car, so you want to be sure that you keep that in mind before you make the choice to drive while under the influence. At least 480 community service hours will be mandated, as will one year of supervision and testing that you will have to fulfill. When you are looking at fines, you will be responsible for up to $5000 in fines, depending upon the aggravating factors of your arrest.
When you are looking at making the choice to drive while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, you need to understand that you are going to have to face severe penalties in the form of fines and fees, as well as punishments, such as license suspension and jail time. By getting a lawyer, you will be able to make it through the legal process and ensure that your rights are taken care of in the best way possible. While you will not be able to avoid punishment entirely, the right legal representation can give you the guidance and assistance you are looking for to get the lowest sentence possible.