Just one more class to go! And then what? I have no idea.
Class 9 was the shortest of classes thus far. We finished just under an hour after we started. The instructor said that because we’re half the size of a normal class (we have about 8 people) that it has taken less time to cover issues, so we’ve been about a section ahead of where we should have been in our VASAP books. And our next class, our final class, will be just a matter of taking the test we took in the first class (we’re supposed to show we learned something) and spending a few minutes with the instructor for evaluation.
To me, this will be a bittersweet moment. Yes, the classes are done and I no longer have to make excuses as to why I can’t travel or do something on Mondays. And yes, I will be able to put a portion of this torture behind me. However, now what? It’s a waiting game. Unfortunately, it looks like from here on out, that’s all it’s going to be for several years.
I wish there was something that first-time DUI’ers with no previous criminal records could do to speed up the process to get our licenses back and get onto living. Once we’re done with classes, I still have to wait 7 months to get through my restriction. I know it’s part of the punishment, but it seems silly. I don’t like just waiting for time to pass- it doesn’t seem to be very effective, anyway, for someone like me. I’m not going to repeat this offense, I am not a law-breaker by nature. I’m not a criminal or bad person, in general. Isn’t there some community service or something I can do to speed this up? It was kind of the same when I was waiting to start my ADAPT and then VASAP classes. There was nothing you could do to get moving through that portion of your punishment. At least I’m not waiting this time out in jail, so that’s a good thing. I am willing to make up for the wrong I committed, but this is like putting a kid in timeout for too long a time to the point that it has no effect. If I have to wait 7 months, then give me something to do, something positive that will not only help me feel like I’m fixing the situation, but maybe giving back to the community. Yeah, I don’t have a lot of spare time, but at least I won’t be twiddling my thumbs waiting for 7 months of my life to pass.
Beyond the 7 months, more waiting will occur. I may need to get my security clearance renewed. This may happen before the 7 months is up, so I don’t know if it will go through. I’ve read stories were it has and hasn’t, but it seems to me more likely that the longer it’s been since the incident, the better. What stinks is that my arrest was in November. My trial was in February. I wish that probation ended a year from the incident. It wasn’t my choice to delay the trial that long- it was my lawyer’s schedule that dictated this. When we- my lawyer and my husband and I- discussed having to put the trial off for a couple of months, I was upset that we were prolonging the answer of whether I would go free or deal with a real conviction. I said that if I was convicted, it meant that I wouldn’t get my license back for that much longer- well past the date of the incident. His reply was that ‘Well, at least in the meantime you have more time to drive free’. Yeah, but now it’s that much longer until I can really put this behind me. I look back and wish we’d taken care of this a month after the incident. I’d be 8 months away from when the case would officially close and maybe in a better position for future career moves, if necessary. It just stinks.
For five years I cannot enter Canada unless I file for a temporary resident permit and it’s really hard to do that unless you hire a good lawyer. At five years, they recommend that you still get a lawyer to file all the paperwork and that can take a year or more to process (plus the expense is hard to swallow). At ten years, it’s less likely you need a lawyer and you can just pay fees- at the border or beforehand. I admire that Canada is tougher on DUIs, but it freaks me out that I can’t enter that country for some time. This applies to more than just DUI’ers- it’s for anyone convicted of just about anything, minor or serious. I have no immediate plans to go to that country, but our VP just announced that they’re going after contracts in some of the provinces and it worries me. Again, the frustrating part is the waiting. There’s nothing you can really do in the meantime.
I also wish you could do something after your restricted period to help get points back on your license. I know when you have a speeding ticket or some other more simple issue, you can take driver improvement classes to get some points back. I don’t know if I can do this with a DUI, but I’m going to call the DMV and find out. It might be worth the money to try.
All in all, this DUI was definitely one- if not THE- hardest thing I’ve had to deal with, as I’m sure is the case for most people who generally obey the law and are good citizens. I wish the courts had the ability to look further into each case and recognize that some people just make simple mistakes and are not prone to do anything worse and work something out where you can get back on track in your life by doing something proactive/productive. Why not offer people with an otherwise clean record the option to do 100 hours of community service to get their license back a few months early? After all, in my case, my BAC was never really revealed. I should have had a .04-.05% and that’s not even the legal limit. There are a few others in my VASAP class that have similarly low BACs, but got convicted anyway. They, too, would seem to be good candidates for some more productive program where they still pay the same amount in fines/fees, but maybe have the means to closing their cases a little early. Maybe I’m talking nonsense. Maybe I’m asking for special treatment. But from what I’ve heard from case to case the punishments and fees seem to vary so much, anyway. So, why not make this part of the realm of possibilities, too?
It’s not that I don’t take this seriously and I want to ‘dumb down’ the crime involved. I’m just looking for something positive to do in the next 7 months that might help me get back on track with the courts and the DMV.
As part of our final class, we had to write a paragraph about what we’ve learned from our experiences with the class and/or the DUI. I wrote a page. I learned that all these years I’ve been wrong about how much I can drink and be safe driving. It’s one drink per two hours for you to go back to a 0% BAC. I’m taking that lesson to heart because, yes, you can technically drink using the one drink per hour rule, but you still have a minimal BAC and that can still land you with a DUI even if you’re under the legal limit (which begs the question…why have a legal limit if you can get a DUI well under that limit???) I also learned that anyone can become an alcoholic. I always thought people were generally predispositioned to it- whether it’s an addictive traits, family history, depression, etc. The only way to make sure you don’t become an alcoholic is to never drink. I also learned that having a plan before you drink is a good way to live. I’ve never thought about it like that. For me, yes, I knew I was going drinking and had a way home or I’d drink little and make sure I could drive by the time I left. Obviously, that’s not really good enough. There are times that I look back on a night out with friends and drinking was a spontaneous event. I might think I’m going out for one drink, but it turns into three. Now, for me, that happens the most when I’m at a conference or on business travel and I’m not driving anywhere. But what if that happened while I was out and driving? It’s better to say ‘this is what I’m going to do’ and stick with it just in case.
And in conclusion I wrote about my experiences with the processes as a whole. I wrote that I was frustrated by the situation more than perhaps others because of my time and money invested in ADAPT before I went to VASAP. I’m still jaded by that, of course. I went into my VASAP classes pissed off about what had happened to me. My case manager should have been clear about where I was being sent and why instead of expecting me to ask the right questions. As a first time DUI’er, how would I know to ask certain questions? I’ve not worked the system ever before, so I shouldn’t know what to ask. It’s like at the trial when the prosecutor asked why I didn’t tell the officer that I had acid reflux, but my lawyer came back and said ‘My client has never been in trouble with the law before and never gone through this before, so how would she know that would interfere with her BAC tests?’ Good point. I guess on a side-note, I should have written that one thing I learned was that you need a good lawyer. If I hadn’t had one, I’d be in more trouble simply because I don’t know how the system works. And frankly, I shouldn’t. Should that law lean in favor of those that have been in trouble before and know how to get around things? No. But that’s what money helps with, right? What if you don’t have any money?
In the news I keep hearing about Lindsay Lohan. Here’s a person with two DUI’s, a charge for cocaine, and numerous other issues. California has a deal where you can go on house arrest instead of jail. I’m not sure the average person is entitled to this, though. She just tested positive for alcohol. And what will happen to her? She’ll probably get more time in house arrest and pay more fines. The average person goes to jail. Hell, in this state, the average person goes to jail on the second DUI, let alone the cocaine charge. She spent something like 2 hours in jail- I was there for 7 waiting to be processed. Everyone I have asked about this says it just shows her money bought a good lawyer. But I think back to my trial. Even if I had a million-dollar lawyer, the judge would still not have listened to half our case. He still would have been just as uninterested and angry…unless maybe he was getting something in return if he was easier on me. I just don’t see having a lawyer like that work in the average case here in VA based on what I saw that day back in February. It’s not like the movies where you’re sitting at tables and you take the stand and you have witnesses and plenty of time to plead your case. You stand up at the podium and you’re allotted only so much time. The judge cuts you off constantly. There is no plea bargaining with the prosecution. But yet, someone like Ms. Lohan can get away with more than us average folks. Well, good for her to hire the most expensive lawyer she can, but I just can’t see that working in my case. I think if I were a celebrity I might have had an easier time, but who knows. It’s just odd.
Well, tomorrow is the final day, so I’m glad to be done with this part of the punishment. But, again, now what?
***Forgot to mention that in class 9 we had a breathalyzer. However, when it came down to my turn, the battery on the machine died. So, the instructor said forget it and dismissed the rest of us. Gee, bummer. ***
Life After a DUI 