IM FREEEE
LONG POST
So I just wanted to give others a literal play by play concerning the DUI in Tennessee. I caught my first DUI
Nov 2024. It was hell, but the cops were nice. Did the field tests, had them laughing. I was tellin jokes - ya girl thought she was Bernie Mac 🤣 My car got towed and they towed my ass to JAIL. Met and saw some strange characters, but it’s jail - it is what it is. My brother bailed me out, got my car out and shortly after, had my first court appearance. Blah blah blah - here’s what worked best for me:
I got an attorney. Spent $3500 in total.
Had to take the DUI class in Cookeville, TN.
The court gives you an option- pay $500 for the dui class in Cookeville or pay $800 and go to Christiana.
The class is basically jail lol. I arrived that Friday evening about 4:30 pm. You get checked in, bodily checked & bag checked. No nicotine, no vape, and NO GOING OUTSIDE OR YOUR TIME WILL START OVER. It was wild. They placed me in the female dorm, I got acquainted with my roomies for the weekend. You’re able to order doordash/uber eats, so it wasn’t tooooo terrible. Sleeping on a twin bed in a room with strangers, so…jail lol.
The next morning, class beings. It’s 8 hours. It’s long, it’s grueling, it’s boring, it’s mandatory. They go over long term effects of alcohol/ Mary J. They show videos of crashes. I know in TN, in high school they have the reenactment of a DUI crash, showed that. You do have a break each hour. Still boring.
Saturday night, you’re chillin with the other offenders, ordering food, playing card games, shooting the breeze, talking about your dui arrest - again .. it’s like jail.
Sunday morning rolls around, another class. It’s quick. Depending on the time you have left on your “arrest”, determines the time you’re released. I was released at like 3:23 pm. Not before, not after. Right on the dot. JAAAAIIILLLLL lol.
If I remember correctly, after that I had to go get a restricted license. I had to get the breathalyzer installed. I went with Smart Start in Murfreesboro. Install fee was like $150. That’s when it really sets in. Damn…I got a DUI. Every 30 days you go to the install center and have it calibrated - basically pulling the footage from the camera in the car, checking for violations. Speaking of violations, I had so many. But it never locked out.
When I would blow a “VIOL”, i would wait about 15 mins, they blow again. May pass, may fail, just depending on how much you drank the night before. Eventually, youll learn your limit for the following morning test. Be careful with the rolling tests. After you were successful at starting your vehicle, about 5 to 15 minutes later. You will have another test. You only have five minutes and 55 seconds to do so so be careful going into stores with your vehicle still running, and you have not completed the rolling test. After that one, another test will come in about 30 to 45 minutes.
Every month you have to pay $150, at least with Smart start, to calibrate the device. Such a hinderance.
On your first offense, you are legally required to have that device for a year, but what they do not tell you, is that after your year comes up, it’s your responsibility to reach out to the state requesting a removal. If they grant your request, they will send you a letter in the mail. If they deny your request, you will get a letter.
when you finally receive that approval letter to remove the device, go to the DMV ASAP! You will have to get a NON RESTRICTED LICENSE. number 16 restriction is DUI. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET THAT BEFORE YOU HAVE THE DEVICE REMOVED! YOU CAN EASILY HAVE IT REMOVED JUST BY GOING TO THE KIOSK. THEY WILL PRINT YOU A RECEIPT, WITH YOUR NEW ID ON IT WITH NO RESTRICTIONS. You will get the official hardcopy in the mail, probably a couple of weeks afterwards. I’m still waiting on my non-restricted drivers license. That process by itself took about two weeks, no lie. Once you finally receive the removal permission, contact the breathalyzer device company to schedule a removal. It cost me about $135 today to have it removed.
Oh! I totally forgot. Your insurance will drop you. I had to get the SR 22 insurance. That was about $250 a month.
Going back to removal. Being that it’s your responsibility to have it removed, number one. Check your mailbox! My approval letter was just sitting in my mailbox for a few days. They will not contact you about your removal!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again, it’s your responsibility!!
Good luck on your journey, you’re not a bad person.
Your social life will be altered, but you will be able to get through this.
This was the most costly mistake I ever made. I won’t be doing this again. In total, I know I spent well over $10,000. It’s not worth it at all.