A DUI is no way to start a new year

Parties will soon be launched across Scottsdale County to celebrate the end of one year and start of another. Of course, there are parties and celebrations on every night of the year, but New Year’s Eve might be the biggest of them all.

We wish everyone a safe and happy evening, and to help make that happen, we offer the following tips to help ensure that you don’t wind up in the back seat of a Phoenix police car under arrest for DUI.

On the website DrinkingAndDriving.Org, they give drivers a number of tips that can help prevent a drunk driving charge regardless of whether it’s New Year’s Eve, your birthday, anniversary or any other night. Including are the following bits of advice:

• Remember the law: it’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent in Arizona. If you break that law, you will face some of the harshest penalties for DUI (aka DWI) in the nation.
• Designated driver: a sober friend or significant other who agrees before the night begins to avoid all alcohol for the entire evening out.
• Taxi or ride-sharing service: if you don’t have a designated driver (or if the designated driver has slipped up), call a cab and get a sober ride home. It might cost a few dollars, but it is a lot cheaper than the serious legal consequences you might otherwise face.
• The cost: if you are arrested for driving under the influence, you can expect to pay thousands of dollars in fines, fees and increased auto insurance premiums.

We understand that mistakes happen. Those mistakes can involve drivers who have had one too many and the mistakes can also involve sloppy police work or overzealous cops. Discuss the circumstances of your arrest with a NW Phoenix DUI attorney.