r/dui

I have a question for everybody, but I would like a real genuine honest answer. This Friday I’m bout to get the IID in my 🚗 for 6 months . My lawyer has me go with Smart Start since I get a coupon $150 off my installation. I beyond words nervous 😬 about having the device in my car . I read other reviews and spoken to other people I am being told if you follow the directions like I am and will then I should have no problems . I know when I go there they will help me on how to blow correctly and get comfortable. On Reddit all you read is bad bad reviews ! I know my lawyer said I will need to blow #3 times daily just really truly hoping by the grace of God these 6 months go nice and smooth . Just trying to ease my nervousness and anxiety.

Georgia resident and I've been driving with a regular license for 10 years now. No interlock, no probation.

Just moved to New York and went to the DMV to get a New York license and have my car registered.

Little did I know that they have a lifetime ban for DUIs over 4.

Well, guess what? They took my license for life. I've never been in trouble in this state.

In September of 2025 I got a DUI. I went to court and they gave me a year with the interlock as well as ASAP. I did still drink after that but made sure it was only on the weekends or when I didn’t have to work. I ended up triggering my interlock about 4 or 5 times with a violation and went to court to prove I wasn’t drinking and we found out eventually my inhaler was setting it off at exactly .02. They threw the violations out and told me to be cautious. For 7 months I had no violations, I was using my inhaler way before getting in my car. Well about 4 weeks ago, I did get in my car after hitting the inhaler because I had a panic attack which triggered my asthma. It went off with a VIOL and I literally freaked out! It did the 5 minute count down and I hit it again and it passed me. No lockout, no mandatory 5 day calibration, nothing. I immediately emailed my case manager and told her the situation with my inhaler and that I passed the retest. This was one of the many case managers that were passed around to me. She replied

“If you were able to clear it on the retest it will not inform me of a violation. I will look for it in August but it was cleared, you should be good.
Thank you for letting me know.”

Fast forward 4 weeks later, got my calibration, and I get an email 2 days later with a violation notice of blowing a .02 and how they are alerting the court and they extended my interlock UNTIL SEPT 2027!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can someone please tell me what I’m supposed to do right now??!!!! I literally can’t go through this again! Has anyone been through something similar??? I’m so stressed.

Haven’t been charged yet?

AZ here. Friend claims she was arrested for dui but is awaiting charges. That sounds incorrect to me, right? Wouldn’t she immediately know the charges within days? She was arrested months ago. That can be proven. I wonder if I’m being lied to or if she is just too much of a drunk to get her facts/memory straight.

Hi everyone! January I got my first DUI in Virginia, have had interlock for about 2 1/2 months. Late July I drank too much the night before (I know, I know) & went to blow for work & it said FAIL. Then I waited 5 mins, blew again, was all good. I told my VASAP officer about this, she said its fine as long as I blew 0 after, assuming I didnt and just blew below the .02 threshold 5 mins later, she got my results from my calibration last week, now she scheduled a court date for a violation. Anyone know how these normally proceed? I’ve had no other violations, been attending rehab where I’ve been tested 4 times randomly & have been clean for all.

For those people with a “bad dui”.

Aka crashes, or repeat DUI’s, or super high bac’s…

Did your lawyer have you do anything as mitigation? Do you think it helped your overall case result and how? What was the mitigation you did.

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 2025. 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

My son got pulled over 5-6 weeks ago for a DUI. He was not drunk, he blew zero twice. The cop put all kinds of things in her report about how he failed the field sobriety tests and arrested him anyway. She made him do a pee test, he hadn’t smoked for 9 days prior. Now we are STILL waiting on the results of the pee test and the body cam videos.

How long does all this take? I know his thc test can still be positive 9 days out, but he said he only smokes once a week. He is now away at school and im just sick of worrying about this. We are in Ohio.

Said no lawyer but that’s only because me and my parents have talked to two and we’re going to pick one of them. Just haven’t paid anything yet.

I totaled my car on a telephone pole in the middle of a rainy night on a sharp bend minutes from my house because I was driving too fast. There’s no way to spin that information.

All that being said, I thought I was fine to drive when I left for home but then clearly wasn’t. Delayed effects of alcohol, heavy pour at a gay bar, and whatnot. It was one of those “everyone thinks they’re immune until they aren’t” situations. I did the field sobriety tests and the breathalyzer, and then got arrested. I just didn’t think the number was going to be as high as it was. Almost double the legal limit.

My general understanding is that I’ll probably end up with the CWOF regardless. The lawyers we had consultations with have been pretty confident about that just from their initial review of the police report. However they’re also highly suggesting going to trial. I’m struggling to see the benefit in that. It’ll take way longer, and even if they’re able to get the breath test stuff omitted (something to do with the unreliability of the machines and whatnot), I’d still be in a worse situation if I’m found guilty by a jury and then have it on my record on top of the CWOF that I’ll get anyways.

They say that my lack of criminal history, general driving record (2 speeding tickets in the past 5 years), and the conditions of the night (me having to do those tests in the rain with a bleeding leg scrape after having airbags deployed on me) would probably work in my favor if/when they get a hold of the body cam footage (I say “if” because it seems like a tedious process that takes way longer than it needs to).

So, like, idk. Initially I was worried about being able to travel to Canada ever again and also jail time bc that’s basically an automatic rape factory if you’re transgender, but they said I definitely won’t spend a day in jail and that the travel restrictions in my situation won’t be that serious.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where you knew you’d end up with the CWOF regardless but then went to trial anyways? Also if there’s stuff I should remove from this post lmk, I’m obviously unfamiliar to being in a situation like this.

I originally wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this but couldn’t manage to find anyone who had posted. With as many people that have them statistically this cant be that crazy right? Maybe it is IDK. I guess I wanted to know is there legal trouble that follows? Like I wouldn’t think so but I also have no idea what’s happening. I do love her and she and I have had an excellent experience thus far, I guess I’m more curious if anyone else has experienced it? Honestly the AMA is because i’d love to have some form of communication regarding this and maybe you can share a story?

I originally scheduled with smart start but the company they had me go with to install gave me THE WORST Customer service of my life. I asked for my keys back and just left, luckily I had another appointment with life saver and went with them. How’s everyone’s experience been with life saver ???

Hey I’m kinda freaking out because my lawyers office is closed and I just got a message from the bond company that I have court tomorrow? I checked the calendar and the date is there. Thing is that I got accepted into the dui court program and have a plea hearing for it September 10th. The hearings are for the same case, but it’s a 9am tomorrow, I’ll be at work, and my lawyers office doesn’t open until 9am. I’m not trying to get any points for taking the day off if it’s a mistake. I don’t understand why they have me scheduled for tomorrow and I’m sure it may just be an issue. I don’t know what to do. I’m on the fence of going to work, calling my lawyer at 9am, and seeing if it’s something I need to be at because I also don’t want a warrant put out for my arrest. Please give advice. 😭

This is in Cobb county ga

I had mine installed yesterday, any tips or recommendations on operating a Tesla with Intoxalock? I just want to make this process go as smooth as possible. Also on the first day, after parking my car in the driveway and leaving it in the Texas heat (triple digits) My Intoxalock device wouldn't start up for hours until I gave up. I tried this morning and it worked again as normal. Do I need to wrap it in a towel and keep it under the seat to avoid the heat? I’m located in Dallas, TX btw

I am in New Jersey where it is a misdemeanor and I know that doesn’t matter since it’s still suspended I just need to state it. Suspended since August 2025 and I only needed 3 months IID device but I only bought my first car 2 weeks ago and I haven’t installed it.

Tickets was for texting and driving from an undercover and my only ticket was for texting and driving. He never mentioned it or seemed to care. Will this cause problems in the future or what should I expect?

I told him my license was expired to see if I could slip out of it and I told him I didn’t have my license so he looked up my information.

Is it possible I slipped free from this or will consequences be delivered to me in the near future?

I was jumped by a group of three men who shouted homophobic slurs at me near their pickup truck outside of The Seal pub in Harwich. Message me if you witnessed the incident or if you have any information.

Hey all. Like the title says, first DUI offense. No accidents or injuries occured. 24yo male, California. Around 1:30 AM i left my friends house after maybe 5 or 6 drinks (seltzers) and roughly 2 small cups of wine. Hoped inside my car and started driving. Made my left turn and I see the lights of the cop behind me. Stopped in front of a Panda Express and he stated he noticed I was speeding (over 50 mph, or 55). Long story short, he made me hop out the car and did a field sobriety test, which I failed. He asked me if i had drank tonight, I said no. He asked me once again as he smelt the alcohol, and I said only a few. My driving skills were not impaired excessively, I was feeling buzzed however not extremely drunk, since my last drink was roughly 1 hour and a half ago before the arrest. He asked me for a breath test, initially i refused and he gave me the option of performing a blood test instead, which I agreed to (my subconcious told me i had a better shot by doing that as I wanted my test not to be high of BAC). I got my DS-367 form and we headed to the hospital. By the time my blood was being drawn I was feeling better (not buzzed, little brain fog). Spent the night in jail (about 6 hours) and left with a court date I must attend next month. This Monday morning I filed my SR-22 with progressive and asked how much my insurance will increase (around 100$), called the DMV due to the 10 day deadline and got a hearing already scheduled. Dont know if I should get an attorney for this and I dont wanna spend anymore time without getting further help to lessen my punishment. Has anyone had a similar situation to mine? An attorney I called earlier this day said a blood test may take months to be processed.

Im ready for this to be over blew a .20 in SC sideswiped a car and open container charge. It’s been 10 1/2 months still haven’t gotten anything. Already completed ADSAP and MADD only thing I know is since the arrest is the officer has left the job.

Has been 4 pre-trials already.

My buddy was arrested the other night for what they think is drunk driving. He failed a field sobriety and they took him to the station and took his blood. He has a temp paper id. His question was obviously without driving can we still go to the bar while he waits for the results?

Nevada -Someone called and said they saw me swerving I made it to the destination which was a casino I was there for about 15 mins then they pulled me out and told me someone called and that I had been drinking i did all the tests up until they changed the location of where they were drawing my blood I agreed and they said they would do it at the jail then we got there and had to go to the hospital because the nurse couldn’t come so I was upset and told them I’m not doing it there why is it changing I’ve done everything you asked I just need to per but they wouldn’t let me pee since the moment they took me … apparently me telling them I wouldn’t do it at the hospital triggered them getting a warrant and me getting my license suspended I complied with them the whole time and when I was released it was my first time hearing that i would be losing my license due to that but I was never told that not given my rights just do this and that …. I’m waiting for the blood results but they said it can take 90 days