A DUI with a child in the car is referred to as “Aggravated DUI with Kid in Car”. This is a felony charge and carries more severe penalties than a typical misdemeanor DUI charge in Arizona.
In this short video, David Cantor explains what an Aggravated DUI with Kids in the Car means:
If you are stopped for a DUI with a child in the car under the age of 15, you will be charged with an Aggravated DUI and will usually be arrested on the scene. Your car will be impounded, and either a family member or Child Protective Services will be contacted to take the child home.
Depending on the results of the blood or breath test and if you do not have a prior DUI conviction, you can be sentenced to as little as 10 days in jail or as many as 45 days. Fines and jail costs range from $3,300 for a typical conviction to nearly $9,500 for a Super Extreme DUI with a blood or breath test blood alcohol content registering .20 or higher. The penalties are increased for a driver with prior DUI convictions, especially if the conviction occurred within the last seven years.
You will also lose your driver’s license for one year. If you choose to drive once your license has been reinstated then you will be required to have an Interlock Ignition Device installed on the car’s steering wheel at a cost of $1,500 per year ($3,000). This device requires a driver to blow into it in order to start the car and requires that the driver continue to blow into it every 15 minutes while the car is in operation. Every 90 days, you will be required to go to an interlock facility to have the device’s chip downloaded, in order to verify that you have not driven the vehicle with alcohol in their system.
Also, you will be required to have an SR-22. Under this high-risk auto insurance provision, the insurance companies report the driver to the DMV any time there is a lapse in coverage. The SR-22 policy is usually $500 per year and required for 3 years ($1,500). If you choose to continue to drive you can also expect an increase in your car insurance premiums. The average premium increase after a DUI conviction is $3,000 per year for 3 years ($9,000).
If convicted of any felony DUI, expect to lose any professional licenses, the right to vote, and any gun licenses. If you are engaged in a child custody dispute, you will be presumed unfit as a parent based on this conviction.
DM Cantor has been successful in many Aggravated DUI cases with children in the car. We can and will work to have the charges reduced to a regular misdemeanor DUI in order to avoid the more severe penalties that come with a felony conviction. Call (602) 307-0808 today to schedule a free initial consultation. The consultation will take about 30 minutes and will allow us time to review your case. Our offices can be reached 24 hours a day via email or by calling us at (602) 307-0808.