It’s 2:30AM in the wee hours of New Year’s Day when you get in your car to leave the party; you’re not hammered but the few glasses of champagne with your friends at Conch House are making you feel a nice buzz. On the drive home, you are careful to obey the speed limit, focus to stay in your lane, and then on the last turn before your street you roll a little fast through a stop sign and hear the dreaded whoop whoop of the patrol car’s siren.
Cops and robbers. At New Year’s Eve parties and into the early hours of New Year’s Day, police the world over are facing their fair share of drunken merrymakers. Despite what many may think, the police aren’t dumb. They know a lot of people will be out celebrating and then get in their cars for a dangerous ride home. According to the State of Florida DMV, the State sees some 44,000 DUI arrests each year[i]. With these kinds of statistics, officers in St. Augustine will be keeping a careful watch for any erratic or illegal behavior and cracking down hard on intoxicated New Year’s drivers.
Crime and punishment. Even with just a few glasses of champagne, you can be over the 0.08-limit in the State of Florida. Getting a DUI conviction in Florida has a ton of nasty and long-lasting consequences. For starters, if it’s your first offense, you can expect to be required to complete at least 50 hours of community service and 12 hours of DUI education, can be jailed for up to 6 months, have your license suspended for at least 3 months, and will pay thousands of dollars in fines and fees. Your night went from bar hopping on St. George Street to being handcuffed in the back of a SAPD squad car. With the jail time, cost of bail/bonding out, fines, fees, and skyrocketing your insurance rates, the total cost of a DUI can easily ballpark $10,000. Not to mention these direct costs, with a DUI conviction you can be fired from your present position and may find it difficult to secure future employment. Added up, that’s some expensive champagne!
Keep Our City Safe. Instead of going through all this, why not get Farah and Farah to give you a free ride New Year’s Eve? Okay, so it’s not actually Eddie or Chuck Farah driving you home, but they have partnered with Uber and taxi company Clean Taxi in St. Augustine to make sure you have a safe way to get home after bringing in the New Year. The program runs from 8:00PM on 12/31/18 to 3:00AM on 1/1/19. It’s the least we can do to keep our city safe. Unless you’ve experienced it, you’ll never know the deep sadness befallen to those who have lost a loved one as a result of a drunk driver. If you’ve been drinking on New Year’s, don’t get behind the wheel. Whip out your smartphone, click on the link below, and get a free ride home. To get all the details and to fill out the form to receive your rider code, click here.
Farah & Farahis passionate about protecting victims. If you’re injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, we understand how to navigate the complicated insurance and legal processes to get you the compensation you need to be whole again. We pride ourselves on taking the pressure off you by supporting you and managing the entire process, so you can focus on getting better. Some of the things we’re really good at include making sure your insurance company gives you the fair market value for your vehicle, negotiating medical bills, and knowing when insurance companies are trying to short-change the claim. Let our experts review your claim for free today.
[i]State of Florida Department of Motor Vehicles (2018) https://www.dmvflorida.org/florida-traffic-laws/florida-dui
