DUI/Drunk Driving
When you are driving dangerously or erratically on the highway, the police have a reasonable suspicion and a right to pull you over for questioning. When they pull you over, they will be looking for several things. The first being if you appear to have been drinking or if you have been under the influence of any type of drug. It doesn’t matter if your driving impairment is caused by alcohol or drugs, you will have the same charges against you in a Tampa court of law.
First Offense Tampa DUI
- The first offense for getting a Tampa DUI from drunk driving is a suspension of your driver’s license. You will have ten days to write a letter and appeal you case and get the license back. If you don not submit paperwork within those fist ten days, then you will have to wait for your court case to process, which may take a long time. Driving without your license and getting caught during this time will earn you even more charges when you case does come up.
- There will also be a fee of between $500 and $1,200. You might get a jail sentence of up to a week or two, but jail time is rare for a first offense. The only time there would be jail time on a first offense is if there was bodily or property injury with an accident. Then the fees would also go up and there might be community service hours involved as well.
2nd & 3rd Offense Tampa DUI
- The second and third offense are basically the same as the first, with the fines and the possible jail time increasing with each offense. A second offense will have fees of $1,000 up to $2,500 and possible jail time of up to 90 days. If the Tampa DUI arrests are made within five years of each other, the likelihood of jail time will increase.
If your third offense is under ten years, then you can expect to pay fees of between $2,000 and $5,000 dollars. Your driver’s license will be taken away for up to ten years, with no chance of a program to get you out of it. The judge may also impose a jail term of up to five years and order separate acts such as probation, community service, alcohol education classes, AA meetings and even a health evaluation.
When there is a tampa DUI offense from drunk driving and there are injuries involved, then all of the charges are more serious. It doesn’t matter if it is a first or a second offense, the fines will be higher and there will probably be jail time. If there is a Tampa DUI manslaughter involved, then there will also mandatory jail time. The person will probably be required to have a probation period once they get out of jail where they have to report to AA meetings, be on probation for several years, pay restitution to the victim and be without a driver’s license for a long time. Tampa laws are tough on drunk drivers, especially when there is an injury or death.
