You are driving down the road, minding your own business, blasting Whitesnake or some smooth jazz and bopping along, and suddenly you realize… you’re drunk. You are not only drunk, but you are drunk and driving. You are a criminal, and you are dangerous. What do you do? Do you become one of those tattletale DUI stories? Would that help your case if you have to go to court?
First, the moment you call police and tattletale DUI yourself, you will have to go to court. Courtrooms rely on facts, not self-serving behaviors during the illegal act being defended.
Second, if you are reading this while you are drinking and driving, there’s an even bigger problem to address.
Whether or not you intended to drink and drive, you are now faced with being a danger on the roads – to others and to yourself. If those blurred lines no longer make sense, or that stoplight seemed to be a lot greener than its actual red, you need to pull over. If you feel like you are a danger on the roads, you probably have already alerted some other driver on the road who has called 911 to report your erratic or dangerous driving. Despite that, you can definitely call and be that tattletale DUI we occasionally read about. You are doing us all a favor.
If you do make that call, remember that the facts of your case will determine the consequences you face. There are no mitigating circumstances in any state for being a tattletale DUI, and you will still have the same court costs and fines, community service, ignition interlock requirement, and more (depending on your circumstances) even if you rat yourself out.
Before you get into a situation where you are in the middle of a self-proclaimed DUI, remember that all you have to do to steer clear of trouble is to have a plan for a safe ride home.