A Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge comes with severe penalties, and usually means losing your license. Depending on the various factors involved in your specific situation, you could receive either a misdemeanor or felony charge. Regardless of the severity of the charge, convicted drivers will have their license suspended for some specified amount of time. They may have to pay fines and spend time in jail, as well. Considering all this, a DWI can be a scary and threatening charge to face. Fortunately, DWI attorneys can craft a defense strategy aiming to get your charges dropped, or at the very least, downgraded, if possible. There are many ways a suspended driver’s license can have an unfavorable impact on your life.
A DWI Can Impact Your Job
It’s scary to think that a suspended license will impact your means of making a living. If your job is not within walking distance of where you live, you’re going to have challenges getting there. Indeed, the majority of workers commute in their cars. Plus, finding public transportation can be challenging. If you work the night shift, for instance, it will likely be challenging to find a bus running at that hour.
Ride share services like Uber and Lyft may be able to help. However, they are expensive and the cost can add up over time. Furthermore, individuals who must drive as part of their job are impacted even more substantially. This causes problems for bus drivers, truckers, and cab drivers. Moreover, even if you get to work on time, every time, your boss may not take kindly to the fact that you got a DWI in the first place.
A DWI Can Impact Your Family Life
Losing your driver’s license also significantly impacts family life. If you usually drive yourself or others in the family, you’ll all have to make other arrangements to cope with your DWI. If you’ve spent some time in jail, now you may have a criminal record and no license. You can’t pick the kids up from school, take them to soccer practice, or drive them to a doctor’s appointment. Your family will have to work together or with others to do many simple family tasks.
A DWI Can Impact Your Daily Activities
Losing your driver’s license has a substantial impact on your daily activities. You depend on driving your car for so many reasons, from going to the gym to keeping a dentist appointment to doing grocery shopping. People with DWIs often realize how much they depend on their cars and how losing their driving privileges impact their freedom to do daily activities significantly..
A DWI Can Lead to Increased Expenses
Getting a DWI increases all kinds of expenses. Without a driver’s license, you’ll end up paying for buses, trains, taxi cabs, or rideshare services to get yourself or your family where they need to go.
Lastly, DWIs are crimes that lead to significant consequences; the suspension of driving privileges is merely one of them. To minimize the penalties associated with DWI, hire legal representation from a DWI defense attorney. Contact one of these lawyers today to discuss your case.