DUI offenders relate experiences

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Dan Neely
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- --  A Tyndall senior airman was leaving a Panama City restaurant parking lot when the tires of his sport utility vehicle squealed, gaining the attention of a city police officer nearby.

As far as the airman was concerned, he had only consumed what he felt was a minimal amount of beer. He was startled to learn he registered a .12 alcohol content on the breathalyzer test, which meant he was driving under the influence, or DUI as it is better known.

How could this have happened to a military member who had heard all the messages, all the warnings about the adverse consequences of drinking and driving, not to mention the safe alternatives?

"I knew there were consequences, but I never thought it could happen to me," he admitted. (Identities and units were withheld at subjects' request.)

The military part of his punishment came quickly: a letter of reprimand and placement in his unit's unfavorable information file, but there were many other ways his life and career suffered.

"With all of the fees and court costs, my financial situation is pretty bad right now," the airman said. "I have to do a lot of cutting back on spending on things I want or don't really need. I'm not sure how much my insurance is going to go up, but I'm not looking forward to that."

Adding to the misery of his consequences, his driver's license was suspended for six months off base and a full year on base.

"I have to depend on people for rides everywhere," he said. "I can't make plans to do anything without checking with another person first."

For a Tyndall second lieutenant, his DUI bust back in December 1992 slammed the door on a prestigious education and training opportunity and much more.

"It cost me my appointment to the Air Force Academy," he lamented.

The California native was just seven months from entering the academy when his decision to drive after drinking changed all of that. Leaving his employer's Christmas party after drinking more than a dozen mixed drinks, the cadet candidate ignored his boss's pleas to take a cab or get a ride home.

"At the time, I was actually afraid I'd have a problem getting a ride back to retrieve my car, so I decided to drive," he recalled.

After arguing with a parking garage attendant about the cost of a parking fee, the intoxicated driver stomped the gas pedal of his sedan and broke through the flimsy yellow gate arm.

"The next thing I remembered was swerving on the freeway to avoid hitting a gas truck, then seeing flashing blue lights behind me," he said. "I had to take a sobriety test and blew a .14. I was fried."

At the police station he was booked and spent a scary night inside the facility's "drunk tank" amongst several other detainees. The next morning he was slapped with the first of many fines and associated costs yet to come.

"It started with a $100 impound fee for my car," he recalled. "I lost my license for six months and my (automobile) insurance (was canceled). My court fine was $2,000 and my 12-week DUI classes were around $500 to $600. Then there were the mandatory two sessions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

"My insurance, which was normally $110 a month increased to about $500 a month, because only one state-appointed insurance company would insure me. My DUI stayed on my record for three years. Then my lawyer fees were added on -- about $10,000 because the judge really wanted to put me in jail a long time. When I total it up, I figure my DUI cost me nearly $30,000."

As if the financial toll was not high enough, the DUI offender had to seek a waiver to permit him to enter his college's ROTC program. Despite the brutal reality of his consequences, the lieutenant keeps a healthy perspective on the experience.

"It could have been a lot worse. I could have killed someone, including myself," he said. "It took me (more than) seven years to recover from the full effect. Looking back, it was just plain stupid. It's something I'm still ashamed of, but I'll talk to anybody about it if it helps them understand the costs of drinking and driving." (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)