What is Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
It is 2019 and you would think that since the 1980’s Driving Under the Influence (DUI) message and the dangers and severity of the issue, people would have “got it” by now, don’t drink and drive! Prior to learning how to drive we are already beginning to be trained to not drink and drive. The dangers of DUI or DWI (Driving While Impaired) are enormous. People continue to lose their lives due to a drunk driver breaking the law and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Today, it is even more complicated with the pain pill, Opioid, Heroin epidemic still in full swing. Couple that with the movement to legalized marijuana and the narrative that weed is safer than alcohol, we continue to have dangerous roads and highways…
Southwest Florida Community and DUI
Living in the Fort Myers area it is difficult to not notice the numbers of Attorneys located in the City of Fort Myers. It seems every other office is an Attorney or Law Firm. Besides that the number of legal television commercials, billboards, and other advertising it is incredible how many lawyers there are in South West Florida. I was recently speaking to an attorney and he said that with Uber and Lyft coming from the tech app explosion they are seeing a decrease in DUI charges. I am not sold on that statistic, to be honest. Maybe, the segment of the DUI population that made a poor choice and got caught just over the limit has dropped, but, the frequent flyers, I mean drivers, are still out there.
So what is the other segment of the population of offenders? I would call them the problem drinkers. I tend to stray away from the term “alcoholic” because I believe that term is a repellant rather than one that would encourage you to continue to read this. People that tend to stay home on amateur nights like New Year’s Eve, those drinkers! The second set of offenders are alcohol dependent folks. Maybe in their brains or the way they think, they do not classify themselves as alcohol dependent, but they get up in the morning and take a pop of vodka, at various times throughout the day as well. They usually, do not consider themselves drunk.
What do I do if I get a DUI?
For individuals that fit any of these three categories and are charged with DUI or DWI, there are three things they should do immediately, first stop drinking (if you are dependent see your doctor for a medical detox) completely until you can rule out alcohol dependence (alcoholism), get an attorney and an alcoholism counselor for an evaluation and ongoing counseling or therapy. If you are in the Southwest Florida area give me a call at 239-687-9198…
