Auto accidents can turn your life inside out. Add impaired drivers to the equations, and the consequences can be graver. From fatalities to injuries that can affect the quality of our life, such as being bed-ridden for the rest of your life, impaired driving exposes road users to many risks. That’s among the top reasons states imposes severe punishment, discouraging users from driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. If you are facing a DUI charge consulting a lawyer shouldn’t be overlooked. Hiring a DC DUI Lawyer makes the process more manageable, facilitating better results, especially keeping in mind that some charges can be dismissed or mitigated following your situation.
While DUI exposes people to grave dangers, most road users don’t give it the much weight it deserves. An offender might only focus on the fines, jail time, and losing their driving privileges, without acknowledging the potential dangers they expose other road users to while driving impaired. With that in mind, after conviction, you could be ordered to participate in a Victim Impact Panel (VIP). VIP consists of victims, survivors and DUI offenders. It offers an opportunity for them to share their experiences, humanizing the menace that is DUI. As an offender, this might seem like extra punishment, but the panel does a lot more that helps to curb DUI. Among the top benefits the panel delivers to the offenders include;
Understand the pain
Your DUI case might not have included an accident. Nonetheless, listening to the experience of the victims is an opportunity to consider the suffering and the pain it could have on other people. As an impaired driver, you are only one mistake away from causing an accident. Considering the potential harm it could cause through victims and survivors stories leaves a significant impact, helping offenders to avoid reoccurrence of such situations.
A chance to move on
If you were involved in an accident, you could be stuck on the bad luck state. Many people drink and drive, it was just bad luck. Listening to others as they share their experiences lets you take responsibility, break the bad luck notion, and move on. You’ll be a lot more cautious, especially as realize how many people have suffered from the impaired driving accidents. For alcoholics and recovering addicts, the panel also serves as a stepping stone towards breaking the denial. Humanizing and individualizing the impact impaired driver has to others creates a vivid image, motivating you to work harder to beat the vice.
Behavioral change
Who doesn’t want to save lives? After a DUI conviction, you’ll be concerned as the next offense attracts more punitive consequences. Nonetheless, nothing impacts users more than the image of victims through the experiences shared. The image will be implanted, and whenever you are about to drink and drive, it’ll replay in your mind. This can help you change and beat the damaging behavior, saving more lives. At a future point, you won’t only be worried about facing the charges, but the possible impacts if impaired driving ends in an accident.
DUI has and continues to be a significant threat on the roads. With its punitive consequences, enlisting DC DUI lawyer is advisable as you face the charges, helping you realize favorable results.
