There are many different reasons that people in Florida drink alcohol and it can be a nice way to unwind. It can also be nice to have a drink when people are in various social situations. Drinking alcohol by itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but when people consume too much alcohol it can cause problems. This is because when people are intoxicated they may make poor choices, which can have detrimental effects on their lives.
The choice could be saying something that they regret and harm a personal or professional relationship. It could also potentially result in criminal problems for the person. One of the choices that can get people in criminal trouble is driving after they are intoxicated. If people are caught, they can be charged with a DUI. This can result in serious criminal penalties in addition to losing one’s driver’s license for a period of time. Anyone with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) above .08 who is driving could potentially face these penalties.
Potential penalties for DUIs when BAC is above .15
While these penalties can be serious for anyone charged with a DUI, the penalties are even more severe for people whose BAC is .15 or above while driving. People could receive a fine between $1,000 and $2,000 even for a first-time offense. They could also be put in jail for up to nine months. These penalties increase if it is a person’s second DUI offense. The fines increase to between $2,000 and $4,000 and the potential jail sentence increases to up to 12 months.
There are many people charged with DUIs in Florida each year. If people are convicted on the DUI they may face the penalties stated above, but simply being charged with a DUI does not mean that people will be convicted. There may be defenses available to people and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Experienced attorneys understand the potential defenses to DUIs, many of which start with whether the police had a valid reason to stop the driver, and may be able to protect one’s rights.