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By Raef Bell
What's the Deal
They Regretted it so will you
"A DUI arrest was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I was out watching a football game at a sports bar with a couple of my buddies one night. We were drinking, but since I was there for a while, I figured I was spreading them out enough to where I wouldn’t get drunk.
On the way home, I got pulled over by a cop. He told me I had a burned out taillight, which I had known about but hadn’t gotten around to fixing yet. While he was talking to me, he must have noticed I wasn’t completely sober. He asked me if I had been drinking, and I admitted that I had a couple beers earlier. After failing a couple of the tests he gave me, I was arrested for suspicion of DUI. I was booked at the police station and given a blood test that showed I was almost twice the legal limit.
Going through the legal system was horrible. Getting an attorney and taking time off work for court — everything seemed like a constant reminder of how much I screwed up. I almost lost my job once they found out that I had a DUI arrest.
I always used to look at people who got DUIs as bad people. But now I know that they’re mostly people who just made a mistake. I can definitely say that it is a mistake that I will never make again"(Mark).
"I was always a good kid. I studied, got good grades, and was active in sports and my community. But when I was 22, I made a mistake that has filled me with regret. I’m not a bad person, but I made a really bad decision.
It was summer, and after getting off my job one night at a local restaurant, a couple of us decided to go out to the lake and drink. I remember it being a really beautiful night — it was warm and clear, and we could see a million stars. We got a couple six packs of beer and sat around talking, losing track of time.
When we left, I don’t remember feeling drunk. Sure, I had a buzz going, but I didn’t think it was enough to impact my driving. About a mile away from home, I saw the police lights in my mirror. At first, it didn’t even occur to me that I was getting pulled over for drunk driving. But once the officer asked me to take a field sobriety test, I knew I was in trouble.
When they gave me a breathalyzer test, I blew a .10. I was arrested on the spot for a DUI. The process of going to court and being convicted was one of the lowest points in my life. I was sentenced to community service, alcohol education classes, and I lost my license for one year, in addition to all the money I spent in legal fees and fines.
Getting a DUI was a big wake-up call for me. I always considered myself responsible, and this single moment contradicts that. I realize now that I was way more intoxicated than I thought and that I’m very lucky I didn’t injure anyone or worse"(Jocelyn).