And if you think that’s bad, there’s plenty you can do to make matters worse—from arguing with the arresting officer to missing a court date to any number of legal technicalities beginning the moment you’re approached by law enforcement. Don’t risk a legal misstep, says Richardson. “The sooner you call an attorney, the better off you are.”

Of course, you’d be much better off if you never took the wheel of a car after drinking. “When in doubt, don’t do it,” says Eger, who routinely lectures his teenagers—and their friends—on the consequences of driving drunk from his perspective as a defense attorney. “If you’re intoxicated and involved in an accident with injuries, there’s no adjudication; they have to convict,” he tells them. “If there’s a death involved, it’s more than likely going to be a 12-year sentence or better. Even if the sentence is shorter, it’s still prison. That’s the ball game. You may or may not get into college. If you do get in, you won’t be eligible for a government loan. Your insurance rates will forever be astronomical.”

Eger adds that, as an attorney, DUIs are, by far, his least favorite cases. Oftentimes there is no malicious intent; the offender’s feelings of guilt and responsibility can be worse than any prison sentence. “There’s no real punishment that can rehabilitate; there’s no real punishment that can make the family feel better,” he says. “It’s the kind of crime where everyone is a victim.”

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ONE WOMAN’S STORY

Being arrested is not the worst thing that can happen when you drive drunk.

In July 2006, Daniella Lombardi, now 21, was involved in a DUI accident in Lakewood Ranch that local authorities consider among the worst they’ve ever seen. Lombardi now tells her story at victim impact panels attended by DUI offenders.

Lombardi had been at a party and met a friend she hadn’t seen in a while. “He had a motorcycle,” she says. “And I love bikes.”

Both of them had a few drinks before they got on the motorcycle and began riding down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. “We started talking about how we love going fast. He picked up the speed,” she says. Then they came to a curve, and he lost control of the bike. It slid sideways into a light pole and Lombardi was thrown off.

Some time later she woke up, still at the scene and alone. Relieved at the thought that her friend had gone to get help, she tried to get up and walk toward a nearby home. Only she couldn’t stand. Her right leg had been severed mid-calf; her left ankle was severely fractured. She crawled to the road instead.

It was 11:30 on a Tuesday night. Two cars passed before the third stopped to help.

Lombardi was taken by Bayflight helicopter to St. Petersburg General Hospital, where her leg was amputated above the knee. “I didn’t find out until later about my friend,” she says. “He’d stayed on the bike and hit a tree. He broke his neck and died instantly.”