10 Terrifying Consequences of DUIs You've Never Considered

You will start paying fees for your DUI before you even get to court. Depending on your level of intoxication and your behavior during the arrest, your bail will be set at between $150 and $2,500. Your car will be towed. In some municipalities, you are only looking at a $100 fee. Other local governments sense a money making opportunity and make you pay dearly. The city of Chicago charges you $1,200 for the first day your car is held and $50 for each additional day of storage. If you can't pay to get your car out of impound after a month, they will sell your car at auction and still come after you for your outstanding bill.

If you attempt to fight the DUI, you are looking at effectively doubling the hefty fines that you've already incurred. DUI lawyer costs often range from $1,500 for "Minimal experience and competence, little time spent on the case, no costs covered" to $7,000 for an "experienced DUI specialist, good reputation with prosecutors and judges, extensive time devoted to the case, most costs covered short of jury trial." You likely don't have $7,000 lying around, so odds are you won't be getting the best representation money can buy.

Most states make it difficult for you to travel internationally following your DUI. Colorado is one of several states that requires that you apply for a Temporary Resident Permit on top of your passport to be allowed entry into Canada. Mexico has a blanket policy that they can refuse any United States citizen entry into the country if they have been convicted of a DUI in the last decade. Any outstanding debts to society, including jail time, fines, and probationary periods further decrease your chance of getting south of the border.

Not only will your DUI cost you a lot of money, it is also going to cost you a good chunk of time. In some states, it's hard to say how much counseling you'll be required to attend, as evaluators or judges make such decisions on a case by case basis. Regardless of how the evaluator views your relationship with alcohol, you can expect some mandated counseling. Also expect to pay an average of $50 per session for these classes. In some states, including Delaware, there is a minimum starting point of eight weeks of classes lasting up to three hours each. Ain't nobody got time for dat.

Many states require you to install a breathalyzer in your car after you get your license back. This means that for the foreseeable future, you will still have to blow into a breathalyzer before your car will start. If you've been drinking at all, you literally won't be able to drive. Guess who pays for this device? That's right, you do. Your local government will give you the privilege of renting it from them at a pretty steep price. Installation could run you up to $200, and then your rental might cost you up to $100 a month.

If you own a car, you likely already feel like you're paying out the ass for auto insurance. You haven't seen anything yet. If you give auto insurance companies a reason to raise your rates, they will. A couple speeding tickets increases your rate, so you'd better believe that drunk drivers see a hefty rise in their premium. Many states report that driver's rates tend to double after their first DUI, and in some instances rates can triple. And no, they aren't exactly in a hurry to knock that rate back down; your average rate hike will stick with you for at least three years.

DUIs generally are never expunged from your criminal record. In Delaware, a DUI is a permanent class-two misdemeanor. In Colorado, only minors have any hope of expunging or sealing a DUI. It's a good bet that your state abides by a similar policy and that your drunken indiscretion will haunt you forever.

They do not make it cheap for you to get a DUI. A first time offender who pleads guilty could still accrue $2,000 in costs. Of course, this sky rockets if you attempt to fight the DUI. Your fees increase exponentially with each subsequent arrest. One estimate put the potential cost for a third time offender in California at $18,000.

First time offenders lose their license for three or four months in most states. If you drive under the influence a second time, you can expect to lose your license for at least a year. Some states, including Tennessee, may opt to take your license for a year after the first offense. If you live anywhere besides New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago, good luck getting to work. Not only did you just cost yourself a lot of money, but you might not be able to hold down a job to help you pay for it.

You may not consider a DUI the kind of crime that comes with hard time. It's time to start. In Florida, you could do up to six months in jail for your first offense. Go ahead and make that nine months if you have a minor in the car with you. Though Florida has one of the strictest policies on the books, other states are falling in line with its way of thinking. Repeat offenders in any state could face several years in prison depending on history and the severity of an accident caused while under the influence.