Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is an unwise move that could have many negative consequences one of which is a huge increase in auto insurance.

If you are charged with DUI and you auto insurer finds out, your auto insurance premium is likely to double or worse. There is a slim chance that they will not find out. But if you are required to prove that you have liability insurance, you will need an SR-22 and that has to be obtained from your insurer. Bingo – you’re busted. Not all states require this, so you might be lucky and get away unscathed.

But take some time to think this through. Are you the sort of person that only does the right thing out of fear? Twenty to thirty years ago people did a lot of dumb things with cars because they didn’t know any better. They drove without seatbelts or child safety seats. In fact, there were very few models of car seats available for children.

Now we know better and, on the whole, we do better. Most children under eight years old travel safely in a good quality car seat these days. I am at a loss to explain what the issue is with those parents who don’t look after their children in this way, but they are less than two per cent.

However, the public education programs of the kind that have made such a difference in terms of seatbelt use have been less significant in reducing the number of incidents of DUI. There has been a decline in the percentage of fatal accidents involving drivers with blood alcohol counts (BAC) over the legal limit of 0.08, but it still stands at approximately a third of all fatal accidents. Somehow this is a message that many people just do not want to get.

Education, facts and statistics do not seem to be enough to persuade people to stop combining drinking and driving. It seems the most effective tool for reducing the occurrence of DUI is the use of sobriety checks. If sense does not prevail, fear of getting caught works reasonably well.

If you are found to have a high BAC at a sobriety check point, you could be arrested. Then what happens to your car? The nice policemen don’t drive it home for you. Perhaps you can get a tow truck to take it home. That is the first of what could be a long line of expenses all because you had too much alcohol. Court fees and fines add up. But they are one off costs.

The big expense is the impact on your insurance policy. It could double or triple or worse. And it could be years before it settles back to an affordable level.

Don’t make the right choice out of fear of being caught or because you don’t want to pay out all that money to an auto insurance agent. Make it because you know it is the right thing to do.

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Category: Legal
Keywords: affordable auto insurance, car insurance, cheap insurance, DUI and auto insurance