Cost of DUI conviction: $10,000-plus
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated November 25, 2008 at 12:24 a.m.
Before drinking that second or third glass of wine at Thanksgiving dinner, Coloradans should take heed that a DUI conviction could cost them $10,000 or more.
The State Patrol said 38 drivers and passengers were killed in Colorado last year between Thanksgiving week and New Year's week. About half weren't wearing seat belts, and about a third of the fatalities were alcohol-related.
Col. Mark Trostel, chief of the State Patrol, said that while a first-time DUI typically carries a $600 fine, total costs of working through the arrest can reach $10,000 or more.
"Ten thousand is on the conservative side," said Harold Fielden, a veteran DUI attorney from Boulder. "Hopefully, they'll be dissuaded when they see the costs involved."
He said people who pay $8 for a cab home when they drink could take 1,000 taxi rides before beginning to approach the cost of a DUI conviction.
Typical expenses
* Fine: $600 to $1,000
* Victim assistance fee: $250
* Law enforcement assistance fee: $250
* Community service fee: $100
* Attorney fees, without a trial: $1,500 to $8,000
* Attorney fees with trial: an extra $4,000
* Tuition for court-ordered alcohol classes: $500 to $1,500
* Sobriety ankle bracelet: $450 a month
* Automobile breath-test devices: $1,200 ($60 a month for two years)
* High-risk car insurance: an extra $3,000 a year
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November 25, 2008
8:44 a.m.
Suggest removal
wshugs writes:
Knowledge that you have killed a family of four . . . Priceless
November 25, 2008
9:02 a.m.
Suggest removal
Macita183 writes:
I'm not condoning drunk driving but I wish on holidays more cabs would be available or buses would re-route to transport people. I remember trying to catch a cab last New Years and the phone was busy for 5 hrs. We ended up walking but I know a lot of other people would have driven. Just a thought.
November 25, 2008
9:33 a.m.
Suggest removal
Thetrainer090 writes:
Have a DD with you or have someone that you know that isn't going out to be available to pick you up when you are ready to go home. Call a tow truck it is cheaper then a DWI or killing someone. AAA has a program over the holiday season you can call a 800 nuber and they will tow you for free wheather you belong to AAA or not. I am getting someone to call me back with that number. I will post it if I can when I get it.