THURSDAY, MAY 4. 2006
OUI
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 5A
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4A
Both Schongar and Switzer had to spend a night in jail. Bondsmen will bail people out for a charge of 10 percent of the bail, but neither got bailed out. If the driver doesn't show up in court for his arraignment, or first appearance, where the charges are formally read, a warrant for his arrest is issued, and he loses his bail money. Giltrud said.
For people with more than one offense, diversions are almost never given, said Jerry Little, the Lawrence city prosecutor. The fine increases with each OUI, and the third is considered a felony and the case is moved from Municipal to District Court.
Once out of jail, both men could drive until their arraignment dates. During that time, Schongar got a lawyer and Switzer applied for a diversion with the help of his lawyer father.
Diversions usually require an alcohol evaluation, at least an eight-hour alcohol information school taught by a counselor, license suspension for a given amount of time depending on the age and blood alcohol content of the person, community service, payment of a fee for the diversion and generally staying out of trouble with the law for one year.
Getting an OUI costs more than a fine, though the costs vary drastically for each person.
Switzer had to do all of that except that he had individualized alcohol counseling over a longer period of time rather than eight hours in a class. After that time has passed and all requirements are met, the person can have the OUI taken off his record.
Monetary losses
Fines range from $500 to $1,000. Lawrence Municipal Court costs are $42 and bail costs vary. If a diversion is granted, the driver pays $150 for an alcohol prevention fund fee that goes toward his alcohol evaluation and at least $80 for the minimum eight-hour session. A lawyer charges between $500 and $750 for a diversion, Gilroy said. He charges $750, but if he has to go to court, it would be $1,000 to $1,500. The diversion fee, about $750, can vary as well, and the towing costs $80.
Schongar said he paid $500 for bail, $1,500 for a lawyer, and $700 for a diversion, but escaped other fees because he did not lose his license. He said he had money saved up from working and could afford the cost without his parents' help.
"It was a pretty nice chunk of my own change," he said.
Another chunk of change OUI offenders will pay in the future, when they can start driving again, is a higher insurance premium — if they can get insurance at all. Switzer had to buy a bike and otherwise pay the cost of transportation to work or school. He will also eventually face the cost of buying a new car and possible trouble getting future jobs.
Switzer is still feeling the
Switzer is still feeling the economic impact of his OUI. Without a driver's license, he had to give up his high-paying waiter job at Carraba's Italian Grill. Instead, he now rides his red Trek mountain bike up the street from his apartment to his low-paying job at Mr. Goodcents, Bob lings and Kasold.
DIRECT COSTS
- Fine: $500 - $1000
- Bail: $ 500
- Fee: $ 150
- Lawyer: $500 - $1500
- Diversion: $700
- Towing: $80
- Restart license: $100
Some insurance companies won't insure drivers who have an OUI, especially those between the ages of 16 and 21, Carrie Sink of Charlton Manley Insurance Agency said. Of the nine insurance companies her agency represents, only two, Progressive and Victorias, will insure OUI offenders. Sink said an OUI could bump a driver's insurance premium from $1,500 per year to more than $2,000.
Switzer is still feeling the economic impact of his OUI. Without a driver's license, he had to give up his high-paying waiter job at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Kansas City. Instead, he now rides his red Trek mountain bike
up the street from his apartment in Meadowbrook Apartments, Bob Billings Parkway and Crestline Drive, to his low-paying job at Mr. Goodcents, Bob Billings and Kasold. He said he even rides his bike to bars occasionally.
Although he did get work, he said some applications asked whether he had received an OUI.
Jennifer Pozzuolo of Mantpower Inc., a job placement company in Lawrence, said not having a driver's license can restrict where you work. Because many jobs may require driving machinery, she said some employers won't hire anyone with a criminal record in the last seven to 10 years.
David Gaston of KU Career Services said getting an OUI can even affect job prospects after college graduation.
He said most companies may still hire offenders as long as they are up front about the OUI
on the application. Many employers hire out background checks, he said, so if you don't declare a diverted OUl, you should hire someone yourself to do a background check and make sure they don't find it on your record before not including it on the application.
Sales jobs that involve driving are usually not an option because the company may not be able to insure the person.
Social impact
"I'm still feeling the burn every day, through almost any activity," he said a year and three months after his QUI.
Switzer's new job at Mr. Goodcents gives him less money to spend on dating, which doesn't happen anyway unless the girl is willing to provide transportation.
Switzer's OUI has limited his social life.
He worked his 20 hours of community service in his hometown of Shawnee during the summer.
"What I thought was going to be a huge bummer was actually cool," he said about working at a drop-off for old furniture, clothing and other items to be resold for profit benefiting the poor. He liked the people he worked with, and it was a humbling experience, he said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6A
OUTCOMES OF LAWRENCE OUI CASES IN 2005
| | KU Students | Lawrence Citzens |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Diverted or guilty | 83 | 293 |
| No Findings Yet | 26 | 115 |
| Dismissed or Not Guilty | 6 | 72 |
| Total | 116 | 481 |
source: Lawrence Municipal Courts
BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT is the concentration of alcohol in blood, measured by volume, as a percentage. For example, a BAC of 0.20% means 1 part per 500 in an individual's blood is alcohol. In most countries, the blood alcohol content is measured and reported as grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood (g/100ml).
Source: wikkipedia.org
BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT BY WEIGHT AND NUMBER OF DRINKS
DRINKS
BODY WEIGHT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 lb. .038 .075 .113 .150 .188 .225 .263 .300 .338 .375
110 lb. .034 .066 .103 .137 .172 .207 .241 .275 .309 .344
120 lb. .031 .063 .094 .125 .156 .188 .219 .250 .281 .313
130 lb. .029 .058 .087 .116 .145 .174 .203 .232 .261 .290
140 lb. .027 .054 .080 .107 .134 .161 .188 .214 .241 .268
150 lb. .025 .050 .075 .100 .125 .151 .176 .201 .226 .251
160 lb. .023 .047 .070 .094 .117 .141 .164 .188 .211 .234
170 lb. .022 .045 .066 .088 .110 .132 .155 .178 .200 .221
180 lb. .021 .042 .063 .083 .104 .125 .146 .167 .188 .208
190 lb. .020 .040 .059 .079 .099 .119 .138 .158 .179 .198
200 lb. .019 .038 .056 .075 .094 .113 .131 .150 .169 .188
210 lb. .018 .036 .053 .071 .090 .107 .125 .143 .161 .179
220 lb. .017 .034 .051 .068 .085 .102 .119 .136 .153 .170
230 lb. .016 .032 .049 .065 .081 .098 .115 .130 .147 .163
240 lb. .016 .031 .047 .063 .078 .094 .109 .125 .141 .156
1 DRINK = .54 OUNCES OF ALCOHOL
*Blood Alcohol Content
1 DRINK = .54 OUNCES OF ALCOHOL Source: University of Oklahoma Police Department
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