For the 168 Alpena-area convictions for drunk driving in 2020, the consequences extend far beyond the payment of a simple fine, even for first offenders, according to police, court officials, insurance agents, attorneys, towing companies, and others.

Convicted drunk drivers pay for their illegal action in time, inconvenience, embarrassment, and thousands of dollars, all for a crime police call completely avoidable.

The cost runs even deeper for the 40 people injured in drunk driving or drugged driving crashes in Northeast Michigan each year — and the families of the 20 people killed by intoxicated drivers in the region since 2016.

“Think before you do these things,” pleaded Alpena resident Carolyn Holbrook, who lost her son to a drunk driving crash in 1999. “There’s a lot of consequences.”

News Photo by Julie Riddle A Soberlink alcohol-monitoring device is shown in Alpena last month.

JAIL AND COURT

Alpena County police arrest about 132 people each year for drunk or drugged driving.

Once arrested, intoxicated drivers sit in a jail “drunk tank” cell until the alcohol leaves their system. For a person just over the legal bodily alcohol content limit of 0.08%, such a stay could take five hours, twice as long for the more than 50% of people arrested in Alpena County in 2020 with a BAC higher than twice the legal limit.

Alpena County Jail officials assess a $12 booking fee, plus a fee equaling up to 10% of any bond posted. Some first-time drunk drivers walk out of jail with no bond payment, but many repeat offenders must make arrangements to pay hundreds of dollars to a bondsman to secure their release.

Police confiscate any cash on the driver at the time of arrest. The money comes back in the form of a check for which defendants could have to wait several days after release from jail.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Near the Thunder Bay River in Alpena last month, Carolyn Holbrook displays a photograph of her son, Eric, who was killed in a drunk driving crash in 1999.

If police impound the driver’s vehicle, the driver owes about $160 for towing, plus $40 per day for storage. For a second or third offense, police could seize the vehicle and sell it at auction.

Drivers who don’t qualify for a court-appointed attorney could pay several thousand dollars in lawyer bills — far more for a more serious infraction involving multiple offenses or a manslaughter charge.

MORE COSTS

Convicted drunk drivers must pay court costs, fines, and fees of $375, plus $350 for a court ordered “impact weekend,” which requires the convict to dedicate a full weekend to intensive training sessions about the crime.

As part of probation, the court may order drivers to take time away from work to attend Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, counseling, or community service. For many, that means lost wages, even as costs related to the offense keep piling up.

A portable Soberlink alcohol-monitoring device, if court-ordered as part of probation, tests the driver’s breath for alcohol five or more times a day, snapping a photo of the user as they blow into a small tube for five seconds. The court could also order the driver to wear an alcohol-monitoring tether around one ankle. A sensor on the device detects alcohol exuded through the skin.

Convicted drivers sentenced to carry a Soberlink during probation pay $7 per day, which can total more than $2,500 per year. A tether runs $11 per day, totalling more than $4,000 for a full-year probation.

Drug testing, also a common component of drunk driving probation, requires drivers to appear three times a month to urinate into a cup at a cost of $70 per month, sometimes for up to a year.

Some drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders, receive jail time as part of their sentence — at $25 per day owed to the jail. Those folks could miss paychecks or even lose a job because of the incarceration.

All court sanctions increase for second- and third-time offenders. A third drunk driving offense, a felony, could lead to up to five years in prison — or up to 15 years for causing a death.

LASTING EFFECTS

By order of the Secretary of State, convicted drunk drivers lose their license for at least six months, even for a first conviction, and pay $125 to get it back. License suspension automatically lasts for a year for drivers with a BAC more than double the legal limit.

Anyone caught driving with a suspended license could face another fine of up to $500, up to 93 days in jail, or both.

Drunk drivers younger than 21 could incur higher fines and more community service hours.

Insurance rates skyrocket once courts add a drunk driving conviction to a driver’s record, increasing by hundreds of dollars per vehicle over a six-month period. Some insurers automatically refuse to cover a driver with a drunk driving conviction.

Drunk driving convictions on background checks may cost a driver a potential job, apartment, or college scholarship.

Check out the video below. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below the video.

THE REAL COST

On top of other costs and inconveniences, a drunk driving conviction often means embarrassment, shame, and damaged relationships — wounds that can last years.

Some repercussions last even longer.

In 1999, Carolyn Holbrook’s 27-year-old son suffocated under a car that rolled three times and landed on top of him.

The driver of the car — in which Eric, her son, had been a passenger — drank heavily before the crash, but the two only planned to travel three miles on a gravel road near Lansing.

Holbrook remembers the phone call from a distraught family member telling her about the crash. She recalls her husband helping her off the floor after a hospital confirmed her son had died.

She remembers deciding whether to view his body in the morgue when all she wanted was to hold him.

“I never got to see him get married,” Holbrook said. “I never got to see him have children. I never got to dance with him.”

More than 20 years later, she still hurts, still keeps Eric’s picture close, and still pleads with people to not drink and drive.

Sure, she tells them, they may have to pay fines and do jail time.

The real cost of drunk driving, though, falls on its victims and their loved ones.

“When you leave the bar, there’s always somebody that will give you a ride,” Holbrook said. “There’s a taxi. There’s the two feet that you’ve got. You’re selfish if you think that you’re OK and you get behind a wheel and start driving.”

By the numbers

Possible costs of a theoretical drunk driving conviction in Alpena County

Bond: $150 (10% of a $1,500 bond)

Vehicle impound: $240 (tow plus two days’ storage)

Attorney: $3,500

Court: $725 (fines, fees, costs, and impact weekend)

Soberlink: $1,277 (for six months)

Drug testing: $840 (for one year)

Jail: $389 (15-day sentence plus jail fees)

License reinstatement: $125

Insurance increase: $3,000 (extra $600/year for five years)

Total: $10,246

Source: Police, court officials, towing and insurance companies, and other Alpena-area individuals and agencies

Drunk driving deaths

Number of people killed in drunk and drugged driving-related crashes in Northeast Michigan from 2016 through 2020

Alpena County: 7

Presque Isle County: 6

Montmorency County: 3

Alcona County: 4

Source: Michigan State Police

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No