New Year's Eve

Patrols Beef Up for DUIs Over New Year's

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Several law enforcement agencies are beefing up patrols over the New Year’s holiday.

There are plenty of reasons to take a ride share or mass transit, not just for the safety of yourself and others -- but getting a citation for driving under the influence (DUI) is expensive.

NBC 7 spoke with DUI Attorney Mark Deniz who said this is the beginning of a very busy time for him.

It starts with New Year’s Eve, then football bowl games, followed by the Super Bowl, then March Madness, and it continues from there.

Deniz is expecting to get his first phone call at 2 a.m. Wednesday for someone in jail after getting pulled over for a DUI.

The first offense has some immediate costs: you usually have to bail out of jail which is around $300, and your car is towed, which is usually $400.

Then you have a court date in six weeks, and classes to take, as well as increased car insurance costs.

When it's all said and done, Deniz tells his clients to expect to pay around $10,000.

An important thing to remember is once you get that first DUI, you're on probation for usually three to five years.

During that time, there is a zero-tolerance policy.

This means if you go out for one drink and are under the legal limit, but get pulled over, that will still count as a second DUI because you're on probation.

Estimated costs for a second DUI go up to around $15,000, and there is almost always additional, and sometimes lengthy, jail time.

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