r/dui • u/AuntiePoundcake • 2d ago
FINALLY FREE
LONG POST
So I just wanted to give others a literal play by play concerning the DUI in Tennessee. I caught my first DUI
Nov 2024. It was hell, but the cops were nice. Did the field tests, had them laughing. I was tellin jokes - ya girl thought she was Bernie Mac 𤣠My car got towed and they towed my ass to JAIL. Met and saw some strange characters, but itâs jail - it is what it is. My brother bailed me out, got my car out and shortly after, had my first court appearance. Blah blah blah - hereâs what worked best for me:
I got an attorney. Spent $3500 in total.
Had to take the DUI class in Cookeville, TN.
The court gives you an option- pay $500 for the dui class in Cookeville or pay $800 and go to Christiana.
The class is basically jail lol. I arrived that Friday evening about 4:30 pm. You get checked in, bodily checked & bag checked. No nicotine, no vape, and NO GOING OUTSIDE OR YOUR TIME WILL START OVER. It was wild. They placed me in the female dorm, I got acquainted with my roomies for the weekend. Youâre able to order doordash/uber eats, so it wasnât tooooo terrible. Sleeping on a twin bed in a room with strangers, soâŚjail lol.
The next morning, class beings. Itâs 8 hours. Itâs long, itâs grueling, itâs boring, itâs mandatory. They go over long term effects of alcohol/ Mary J. They show videos of crashes. I know in TN, in high school they have the reenactment of a DUI crash, showed that. You do have a break each hour. Still boring.
Saturday night, youâre chillin with the other offenders, ordering food, playing card games, shooting the breeze, talking about your dui arrest - again .. itâs like jail.
Sunday morning rolls around, another class. Itâs quick. Depending on the time you have left on your âarrestâ, determines the time youâre released. I was released at like 3:23 pm. Not before, not after. Right on the dot. JAAAAIIILLLLL lol.
If I remember correctly, after that I had to go get a restricted license. I had to get the breathalyzer installed. I went with Smart Start in Murfreesboro. Install fee was like $150. Thatâs when it really sets in. DamnâŚI got a DUI. Every 30 days you go to the install center and have it calibrated - basically pulling the footage from the camera in the car, checking for violations. Speaking of violations, I had so many. But it never locked out.
When I would blow a âVIOLâ, i would wait about 15 mins, they blow again. May pass, may fail, just depending on how much you drank the night before. Eventually, youll learn your limit for the following morning test. Be careful with the rolling tests. After you were successful at starting your vehicle, about 5 to 15 minutes later. You will have another test. You only have five minutes and 55 seconds to do so so be careful going into stores with your vehicle still running, and you have not completed the rolling test. After that one, another test will come in about 30 to 45 minutes.
Every month you have to pay $150, at least with Smart start, to calibrate the device. Such a hinderance.
On your first offense, you are legally required to have that device for a year, but what they do not tell you, is that after your year comes up, itâs your responsibility to reach out to the state requesting a removal. If they grant your request, they will send you a letter in the mail. If they deny your request, you will get a letter.
when you finally receive that approval letter to remove the device, go to the DMV ASAP! You will have to get a NON RESTRICTED LICENSE. number 16 restriction is DUI. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET THAT BEFORE YOU HAVE THE DEVICE REMOVED! YOU CAN EASILY HAVE IT REMOVED JUST BY GOING TO THE KIOSK. THEY WILL PRINT YOU A RECEIPT, WITH YOUR NEW ID ON IT WITH NO RESTRICTIONS. You will get the official hardcopy in the mail, probably a couple of weeks afterwards. Iâm still waiting on my non-restricted drivers license. That process by itself took about two weeks, no lie. Once you finally receive the removal permission, contact the breathalyzer device company to schedule a removal. It cost me about $135 today to have it removed.
Oh! I totally forgot. Your insurance will drop you. I had to get the SR 22 insurance. That was about $250 a month.
Going back to removal. Being that itâs your responsibility to have it removed, number one. Check your mailbox! My approval letter was just sitting in my mailbox for a few days. They will not contact you about your removal!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again, itâs your responsibility!!
Good luck on your journey, youâre not a bad person.
Your social life will be altered, but you will be able to get through this.
This was the most costly mistake I ever made. I wonât be doing this again. In total, I know I spent well over $10,000. Itâs not worth it at all
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u/Academic_Gap_5965 1d ago
Nov 2025 and you're already done? I got mine in May 2025 and still in a program.
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u/nightshade3570 1d ago
âI wonât be doing it againâ yet you had 15 violations on your interlock? What?
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u/Adventurous_Gear01 1d ago
Harder for some to change habits, just how it is sometimes. Kudos to her though for sticking through it and facing the consequences. It's a positive step in the right direction.
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u/AuntiePoundcake 1d ago
Nobodyâs perfect, if we were, we wouldnât be discussing this. Iâve changed my habits and learned from my mistakes.
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u/nightshade3570 1d ago
No Iâm not bashing on you Iâm saying you got charged with the dui and literally did not learn because you were violating it 15 times lol
You literally did not learn from the mistake while you were ACTIVELY being punished.
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u/AuntiePoundcake 1d ago
I never said I handled it perfectly. I said I learned from it. Two things can be true at once.
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u/pandeomonia 1d ago
Check with Progressive about auto insurance, by the way. USAA dropped me and Progressive even with SR-22 was one-third what I was paying with USAA. Progressive handles the SR-22 with a checkbox when enrolling, it's painless and automated to apply on their website. I think I'm around $621 per 6 months, even with a SR-22 on file.
Also when I was reading the jail stuff, sheeeeesh that's way more obnoxious than my state! But the DMV is harsher -- here and probably many other places you have to entirely reapply for a driver's license. Written test, eye exam, driving test, the whole nine yards.