The DUI penalty in Florida

Some of the hottest stars in hollywood have gained the limelight once more last year, however this time, they were not promoting any movie or in a musical concertthey were arrested for suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Beverly-Hills socialite Paris Hilton and 'Mean Girls' star Lindsay Lohan were only a few of them who was on th spotlight for drunk driving. In another side of the story, more and more individuals have now been convinced that the consequences for driving while intoxicated is not a joking matter. Nevertheless, there still a few who remains to consider it as 'no big deal'.

The crime of DUI is considered to be a major offense here in Florida as well as in other states of America. This may be the reason why the penalties for such act are very severe and harsh. In fact, there were studies that shows alcohol-related vehicular accidents causes a person's death every 32 minutes. In the same way, such incidents can likewise inflict injury to any individual in a matter of 2 minutes. Adding to that, traffic authorities last year have cited that DUI offenders were able to kill more than a million innocent lives as a result of a DUI accident. And among the 50 states, Florida turned out to have the most numbered DUI arrests and accidents. Thus, state officials have since continues to formulate the best ways to minimize, if not stop, this misdemeanor.

Here are some of the most common DUI penalty in florida:
1. Fines - Monetary sanctions are the immediate penalty a person may face for the charges of drunk driving. The amount can range from $100 to $1000 depending on the frequency of the offense.
2. Jail Time - aside from fines, a person may also take some time in prison as a consequence. Jail period usually take some days to less than a month for first time offenders and may take several months to almost a year for both second and third-time offenders. There were also instances wherein the offender was able to have a decade or more spent in prison because of a DUI. This can only happen when a person was proven to commit a vehicular homicide. The latter meant that there were other persons on board the vehicle or other persons on the street or road that were injured or hurt as a result of the person's DUI act.
3. Driver's License Suspension - Aside from the fines, the suspension of a driver's license may also be one of the inevitable aftermath a person may face for a DUI charge.
4. Other penalty - other DUI penalty includes community service, probation, DUI classes, increased in insurance premiums (in the event you were found guilty and your car insurance knew about it) and installation of an Ignition Interlock Device.

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