You might rue the day that you got a DUI. Is there any way to get rid of this conviction? Will a DUI always show on your background check?
DUI Punishment
Driving under the influence (DUI) can change your entire life for the worse. With this crime, you are usually hit with several criminal penalties at the same time: jail time, loss of ability to drive and fines. Your job might be at risk also.
If you can’t drive, how can you get to work? You also might suffer from the stigma of being a drunk. There are taxis and special driving services that can drive you home from a bar. It pays to be prudent.
Public Transit
Your driver‘s license might be suspended. DUI penalties are becoming worse and worse around the country.
Insurance Risk Assessments
Your insurance company will use the DUI to properly gauge you as a risk factor. It is very difficult to change from being a high risk driver (after a DUI) to becoming a low risk driver afterwards. Governments and insurance companies have worked together to keep close track of various crimes, like the DUI.
The DUI is both a driving violation and a crime in many jurisdictions. It has also proved to be a very good source for governments to raise money. They can take possession of your vehicle and sell it during a sheriff’s sale to earn revenue.
Background Check
Your DUI will become part of the public record. It varies, but this DUI may remain on your background check from between 3 to 12 years. Each state is different.
If you have more than one conviction, you will be treated as a “repeat offender.” The penalties will become worse for each conviction of the same crime. The DUI repeat offender concept has also led to more states keeping the records for longer. Why?
Some states will list time periods between different DUI convictions as sentencing guidelines. Therefore, governments will keep detailed records of your DUIs in order to gauge the proper penalties. This has made it very difficult for DUI offenders to move on from their convictions.
Your background check will even list arrests, not just convictions. Therefore, future employers, apartment complexes and insurance companies will have access to these records.
Each state varies. You might try to “expunge” the DUI from your record, but you will have to give a judge a very good reason to do so. A DUI conviction can impact your life for decades.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!