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that your family and friends will hold are, in no particular order, that:

A) You are an alcoholic
B) You have a serious drug problem
C) You are irresponsible and unreliable

This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. Legal costs will be far in excess of that cab fare home and back out to get your car in the morning. My attorney fees, court costs, fine costs, and "Alcohol Education" costs were far in excess of $1,000.00. This isn't including the cost of my one-night stay at the jail and the wonderful "Ham and Cheese on White Bread" gourmet meal provided to me there. The result of this was very simple: I couldn't pay my bills. My power was turned off, my fridge went empty, and, after reaching an agreement with my landlord, I was spared the embarrassment of eviction proceedings but had to immediately vacate my apartment. I was lucky in that my landlord was a member of AA who had been in the same situation before, or I would not have been approved for my current living situation.

Outside of friends and family, and after you pay the high cost of one night's bad decision, you have to deal with social stigmas. Two years after my arrest, even with a driving record that was clean prior to it and has remained clean since, I am considered an insurance risk. Car insurance alone is high enough to eat a majority of my finances. I was lucky enough to be employed by my current employer prior to being arrested, because since then I have been told in interviews that a DUI is one of those things that make a potential employer think you're unreliable. A DUI says to the world at large "I care neither about myself or others".

There is one other aspect, and that is the self-shame. I had been raised to believe that driving drunk was a thoughtless and deadly act with serious consequences. I was aware that I could have killed someone through my own irresponsible actions. Yet I did it anyway. Even though it has all settled down, I still feel ashamed that I took not only my life but the life of anyone who may have crossed my path and put it on the line. This was pounded home to me when I attended an "impact session" and spoke one on one with a lady whose grandson I had known in high school, but had not known that he was killed by a drunk driver.

In short, folks, it's just not worth it. The cost of a taxi needs to be worked into your drinking expenditures for the night. Precautions have to be taken to avoid the situations I've been through. If not for yourself, then for your family, your friends, your reputation, and most of all for those out there you may kill when you decided to let a good time get too far out of hand.

Learn more about this author, John Tabler.
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