If you’ve been pulled over and arrested for a DUI, you may not even know yet just how severe the penalties could be. You’re worried about the costs of a conviction, and even possible jail time, but that’s not all the trouble you could be facing.
If you don’t have a Tampa DUI lawyer, you may need one to avoid these harsh penalties. If you’re convicted of a DUI, you could face any or all the following consequences.
Fines and Insurance Penalties
When you’re worried about a DUI conviction, one of your first thoughts may be on avoiding the fines and fees you could face if you’re convicted. The fines for a DUI can be steep, adding up to thousands of dollars for your losses.
That’s not the only financial toll you could suffer, though. Your insurance company will take note of a DUI conviction, and a serious conviction like this could lead to a canceled insurance policy. That means you’ll need to seek out another, and you may be paying much more for less coverage.
Your License Could Be Suspended
Even if you do keep your insurance policy, you may not be driving anyway. If you don’t fight your DUI charges, you could be convicted, and your license could be suspended for months. If this isn’t your first offense, your license could even be revoked.
A license suspension means your license will be returned once you serve your time and pay a fee. However, a revoked license is one you won’t get back so easily. You may even have to retake your driving test to get your driving privileges left. A permanent revocation means you’ll never get your license back.
Long-Term Penalties for a DUI Conviction
That’s not the end of your penalties, though. In fact, you could be facing penalties for a DUI conviction for years after your case.
For example, you may face jail time if you’re convicted, which could mean months or even years, if you were charged with a felony DUI.
Even if you don’t face jail time, you could still be penalized. You’ll have a criminal record, which will be visible for background checks. That means potential employers, landlords, and others can see that you were arrested and convicted of such a serious offense. In some cases, these penalties could leave you jobless, homeless, and living in poverty.
Fight the Consequences for a DUI
Because a DUI conviction is such a serious concern, it’s important to take steps to fight back and deal with those consequences before your day in the courtroom. If you don’t have a defense prepared, you may be facing all these penalties and others. That makes getting your life back on track tougher than ever.
Even if you don’t expect to get out of trouble completely, it’s best to fight back against these penalties now, rather than just dealing with them in the future. Even a reduction of these penalties can make it easier for you to overcome your case and deal with the penalties ahead.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
