A DUI Can Ruin a Poor Person's Life

A DUI is a slap on the wrist for more affluent citizens, but for the poor it'€™s a financial and legal nightmare that can take decades to recover from. This article originally appeared on Reverb Press.

know a woman, let's call her Jen. One night, Jen was arrested for driving under the influence. After that, I gave Jen a lift to work on occasion. She relied on getting lifts. With her license suspended, Jen'€™s transportation options were severely limited. Like most Houstonians, Jen lived far away from a bus line. In fact, there are no public transportation options available at all in her area. Work was 11 miles away—a three hour trek to an area with no pedestrian sidewalks. A cab ride, if any serviced the area, would cost her $60.00 a day, roundtrip. That's $300.00 a week, assuming she worked five days.

With thousands in pending fines and legal fees, every penny she earned had to be saved. Luckily, Jen had a network of friends to rely on. It was a financial struggle, but she was able to pull through with their help.

But what if Jen didn'€™t have that network? What if Jen couldn't get to work? Texas is a so-called right-to-work state. This means Jen'€™s employers could fire her, without recourse, for any reason. In Texas, losing your job after committing a legal infraction is a slippery slope of debt and jail time.

COULD YOU SURVIVE A WHOLE YEAR ON $3,920? A Class B Misdemeanor DUI carries a penalty of 72 hours to 180 days in jail, and up to a $2,000 fine. Most first time offenders don'€™t face jail time, and opt for probation instead. Skipping jail means you'€™ll probably get to keep your job, since you won't be missing any work—€”but there's a drawback to being on probation: it'€™s expensive. Either option will rack up thousands in debt, and if you can't afford to pay for your DUI, say goodbye to your driver's license for at least a year.

Assuming you manage to crawl out of that financial hole, you are now faced with obtaining SR-22 driver's insurance. An SR-22 policy is significantly more expensive than a normal insurance policy.

The total cost of a DUI conviction, on average, looks something like this:

Bail: $150 -€“ $2,000

Towing and Impound: $100 - €“$1,000

Added Insurance Costs: $5,000+

DUI Lawyer: $2,500

Court Fines: $1,000

Alcohol Treatment/Education: $1,000

Licensing Fees: $150

Ignition Lock: $250

That's a total of about $10,000 in a year. The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour. That'€™s $13,920 a year. The median income per capita in Houston is $27,029. That leaves the latter with $17,029 and the former with just $3,920 to survive the whole year—assuming they'€™re fortunate enough to work a full 40-hour week, with no time off available for scheduled court dates and legal proceedings. Oh, and good luck getting to court in the first place without a driver'€™s license or adequate public transportation.

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