DUI – the other costs

But one "stupid mistake" made in what he called a "split second" has likely saddled him with hardships for the next 10 years or more.

Today, the young man was one of many people who quietly plead guilty to drinking and driving-related charges stemming from an incident this fall that he wishes now he could take back.

The facts are somewhat straightforward: on the evening of Oct. 25, he was driving his VW Golf down Scotia Street – an unopened can of Busch beer on the floor next to him, and another 20 unopened cans in the back.

He loses control and slams his car into a family’s Saturn station wagon which was pushed up onto their home’s lawn from the impact.

The family rushes out to see what happened – and there they find an obviously impaired man slurring his speech, obviously confused by what had just taken place.

Police are called and interview the man who they confirm was obviously impaired. The cans of American brew are then discovered.

The man blows two breath samples for officers. The first is .14 the second, .15. Both are well over the legal limit of .08.

But, police said in their reports, he was co-operative and polite. They even drove him home after cautioning him and informally laying charges against him.

No-one, luckily, is injured. But that doesn’t mean that the young man won’t pay.

Soon after the incident, he’s let go from his job because he needed his now-suspended licence to do it. He’s forced to job-hunt and, lucky for him, quickly finds other employment.

He hires local lawyer Mark Wasyliw to defend him in court. Legal bills start to add up.

Naturally, MPI won’t pay for any damage associated with his car, and will more than likely sue for the damage done to the vehicle of the victims.

"He’s looking at potentially over $20,000 of out-of-pocket-expenses," Wasyliw said.

Add to that the $1,500 fine Judge Judith Elliott imposed on him today as part of his punishment.

He’ll also be without his driver’s licence for at least another year, possibly longer if the Province driver’s licensing branch steps in. It will probably cost a fortune each year to renew it nonetheless.

One split second mistake will likely have cost him nearly $30,000 in bills he’ll have no choice to pay if he doesn’t want to ride the bus or a bike for the rest of his days.

Not to mention the hassles he may have to deal with now he’s got a criminal record.  

"Driving is an extreme luxury that I’d like to have back," he said.

If there’s anything good to be taken away from his experience, he said, it’s that he’s now become an outspoken anti drinking and driving advocate.

"I’m an example of what can happen," he said, vowing to share his experience with everyone he knows.