December 2007 - Posts

• Happy Holidays from DUI School

  Another week and another DUI class.  Everyone was in good spirits because as it turns we get the next two weeks off because of the Holiday season.  In general everyone has had a good week without anyone getting into trouble.  The woman who swore off drinking last week is staying on target and has not done any drinking, so kudos to her.  Another woman, whose work found out about her DUI is jumping through a bunch of hoops her work is requiring her to do in order to keep her job.  The good news is that there is nothing she has to produce for her employer that she won't be able to as long as she is motivated.  The instructor shared a story of just how easy it is to get a DUI these days.  A guy (who had been drinking) left a party to grab a couple of items from his car (but was not driving, was not in the drivers seat and had no intention of driving.)  While he was at his car, the San Rafael police drove by and questioned him as to he was doing.  Well one thing led to another and he got arrested for a DUI without even driving!   So there you go - don't even go near your car if you have been drinking.  Merry Christmas and Happy New - the blog will be back in 2008 and have a safe Holiday season. Posted Dec 18 2007, 11:36 PM by brianc with no comments Filed under: DUI, arrest

• Back to business in DUI class

  Our regular counselor was back this week and it was back to business.  It was the last session for a couple of people in the group and they were pretty happy to be getting some of their free time back.  One of the group members decided that she was going to give up drinking – not that she felt like she had a problem but that sometimes she was not the person she wanted to be when she drank too much.  Everyone was supportive of her decision and we will see how it goes for here.  Another member of the group is having to appeal his court decision where he is falsely accused of refusing a alcohol test.  The penalty for refusal is high – a one year suspension of his license. No restricted license no nothing so we wish him the best and understand that he has a good attorney to help him with the process.There are a couple of people on the currently looking for jobs in the group and there definitely has been some impact on their ability to get a job with the DUI on their record.  I think the lessons learned from their experiences so far are that if the employer is doing a background check they WILL find about the DUI so if you are asked on an application you need to tell the truth. Secondly, in general, it seems that having a DUI will not preclude you from most jobs but it will be a consideration.   Posted Dec 12 2007, 07:31 PM by brianc with no comments Filed under: DUI, Job, Court

• Passing time in DUI School

  I decided to write for this blog to share the experience of the DUI school experience in Marin County.  I have about 6 weeks left in my group sessions (this is after the six weeks of "education" sessions) and am winding down my time.  Group sessions are more interesting than the education sessions since you actually get to hear the stories of other people and their DUIs and what they are going through.  The format of the group sessions is quite simple.  First everyone in the groups share their "highs" and "lows" from the week.  Basically this means that people share what went on in their lives during the week (how work was, what they did for fun, if there were any problems, etc..) Then we have a variable topic each week where we talk about some aspect of alcohol, as you can imagin this is usually on the negative effects or implications of drinking too much. That being said, let me get into it.  We had a substitute “counselor” this week, which was a bit of a change of pace and let the students run the class a little bit for a change.  Everyone had their stories of their past week, most of them were funny as we have a bunch of young folks in the class.  A couple of the elder statesmen / stateswomen of the class got to learn what a “home girl” was which was entertaining but I think illustrates the diversity of the people in the class.  There are people there from all walks of life with all sorts of backgrounds and different relationships with alcohol.  Some people clearly have had or are having significant issues, others have sworn off alcohol altogether and the majority will continue to drink but will take steps to never get a DUI again.  The main focus of this class was to discuss how to host a safe party from an alcohol perspective.  Most people agreed that the steps were a little over board in general but that keeping an eye out for those that have gone over the edge is a good idea. More Soon.   Posted Dec 07 2007, 12:02 AM by brianc with no comments Filed under: Marin County Drinking and Driving Program, DUI, Group Sessions