How many holiday parties will you be attending this year? The final stretch of the holiday season is filled with family gatherings, office parties and celebrations with friends, so the odds are good you’ll be spending a lot of time enjoying the company of others in the last few weeks of 2016.
The holidays are one of the most enjoyable times of the year, but they don’t come without risks. The number of drunk driving crashes and arrests increase during nearly every major holiday in the United States. This is especially true around Christmas and New Year’s Eve. During the holiday season, there are more parties, more people on the roads and more police patrolling our streets to make sure that people don’t drive after drinking alcohol.
Drunk Driving Crashes in Lexington, KY
In Lexington, we’re no strangers to stories about drunk driving crashes. In 2016 alone, there have been drunk driving crashes on the New Circle Road ramp from Richmond Road, South Upper Street near Bolivar Street, the intersection of South Limestone and Virginia Avenue, to name just a few.
In November, the Lexington Police Department expressed alarm at the number of drunk driving collisions and fatalities occurring in the city. Drunk driving-related crashes have increased dramatically this year compared to 2015, authorities said.
A Drunk Driving Charge Can Have Major Consequences
There is no “good side” of a DUI. Nobody wants to hit by a drunk driver, and nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a drunk driving charge. A drunk driving charge can wreak potential havoc on a person’s life. In Kentucky, the penalty for a DUI charge includes between $600 to $2,100 in fines and up to 90 days of license suspension. Subsequent charges can lead to jail time and up $10,000 in fines.
Having drunk driving offenses on your record can also make life difficult in other ways, such as trouble finding employment, housing or education. There is often little sympathy from friends or family members for someone who has made the choice to get behind the wheel after having one too many drinks. Our legal system is even less sympathetic toward drunk drivers.
Few people believe that they are too impaired to drive when they get behind the wheel. Regardless of how many drinks you’ve had or how long it’s been since you drank your last beverage, the law deems a person to be legally intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or over. For those under the legal drinking age and for commercial vehicle drivers, the level is .04 percent.
If you (or a loved one) have been arrested in Kentucky or in the Lexington area in particular, call my office at (859) 685-1055 for a free consultation. Our lawyers specialize in helping defendants fight back on assault charges, misdemeanors, domestic violence, property crimes, drug charges and more, call today.