Driving under the influence of alcohol can impact your life in many ways. If Texas authorities stop you on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and you wind up having a blood-alcohol content that exceeds the legal limit, your finances may take a serious hit in the aftermath.
Drunk driving tends to cost quite a bit regardless of where you reside in the United States, although you may face more financial repercussions living in some areas than in others. Just how much may you have to pay following a conviction for drunk driving?
Staggering costs
According to BACtrack, the average first-time DWI offender in the United States may have to pay as much as $20,000 in DWI-related expenses – and that is just for a first offense. Furthermore, if your DWI arrest resulted from an incident where property damage occurred or someone suffered an injury, you should anticipate these costs potentially being much higher. In Texas, specifically, the average first-time DWI offender winds up paying somewhere between about $9,000 and $24,000 for a first drunk driving offense.
Just what types of expenses may you have to cover following a drunk driving conviction? For starters, you should expect to have to pay steep fines, and you may also have to finance substance abuse treatment classes, an ignition interlock device and similar DWI-related expenditures. You should also expect to pay significantly more to insure yourself behind the wheel for years following your conviction.
Additional expenses for teens
If you were underage at the time of your drunk driving arrest, you should expect to pay even more in DWI-related expenses. According to some estimates, teen drivers who have DWIs in their driving histories may have to pay as much as $40,000 for car insurance, alone, over a 13-year span.
Drunk driving is going to cost you a substantial sum, regardless of circumstances. The exact costs you incur after your conviction are going to depend on the details surrounding your crime.