Last year over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the California Highway Patrol made 663 DUI related arrests in Los Angeles County alone. This year’s Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and the DUI numbers are high everywhere around the country. Across the United States cities are actually honoring the police officers who are able to make the most DUI arrests. Obtaining a DUI is easy; you just need to follow these two steps:

1)    Step one: Consume an alcoholic drink or two.

2)    Step two: Sit behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Thousands of people join the DUI club every year and each member will handle their situation a little differently. Now that you are a member of the DUI club, or you currently drink and drive but haven’t been cited yet, you will probably be a member shortly and once you are you will see people who act like:

• BLAMER- A person who strongly believes that they are the victim and that other people are at fault (The other drivers, arresting officer, judge, etc.) for the DUI.
• ABUSER- This individual is the one who uses alcohol every day, either because they were already an alcoholic or use it as a way to escape from the stresses associated with a DUI.
• REJECTER- A person completely in denial because of any reason (e.g. “I have never been in trouble, this can’t be happening,”). A Rejecter will probably lie or refuse to talk about their DUI because of embarrassment or whatever excuse they find fit.
• ACCEPTOR- An individual that has taken responsibility for their actions, not blaming or denying. This person is the least likely to become a repeat offender because they understand the gravity of the situation and grateful that no one was severely hurt.

Each person will handle their DUI differently, with different amounts of the personalities listed above. How you approach this is obviously your decision, but know that researchers discovered that a third of people with a DUI will receive a second DUI, which comes with far greater penalties than a first DUI (MADD). Every DUI arrest has punishments and eventually you will serve them and your DUI will be in the past. But one of the toughest consequences to recover from is the financial impact associated with a DUI.

On average across the nation, according to MSN, a DUI will cost you $10,000 and considerably higher if you actually hit someone or something.  For most DUI recipients the costs can be financially detrimental and there are multiple factors that contribute to the destruction of your bank account. As awful as a DUI might seem at first you should know that there are people determined to help you emotionally, and companies dedicated to helping you financially.

A DUI is not the end of the world, and in reality if you most prevalent problem is your DUI consider yourself lucky, life could be much worse.