DUI + St. Patrick's Day = $20,000
By Craig Guillot • Bankrate.com

Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to pay for a drink at a St. Patty's Day celebration, but if that last toad-colored beer puts you over the legal limit, you'll need more green than the glittering shamrock you're wearing to get past a drunk driving charge.

And that's only considering the potential financial cost of being ticketed for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, better known as DUI or DWI. You'll need more than the luck of the Irish to get past the staggering financial blow if you cause an accident -- or the emotional devastation if your actions cause injuries or worse.

And it doesn't matter if it's that last pint of Guinness or one more shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey, one thing is sure -- you'll come out feeling less like a leprechaun and more like a loser if you get busted on the way home.

St. Patrick's Day is a notorious time for drunken driving and in many jurisdictions, law enforcement sets up checkpoints during this holiday and the weekend nearest to it to catch intoxicated drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half (44 percent) of the drivers and motorcyclists involved in driving fatalities on St. Patrick's Day in 2006 had a blood alcohol level of .08 or more.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has noted St. Patrick's Day and the weekend surrounding it to be one of the most dangerous holidays for drunk driving.

More than 13,000 people were killed in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes alone in 2006 and those crashes cost about $51 billion every year. In 2005, a whopping 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence.

One drink too many puts you at risk for not only an arrest, but also for fees, fines and costs that can run you thousands of dollars. While a DUI or DWI may be a misdemeanor charge in a number of jurisdictions, it's a matter that most judges and district attorneys take very seriously. The financial toll of a conviction will play out for years to come, and in many states that can add up to $20,000 before everything is over. This includes bail, fines, legal fees, increased auto insurance premiums, loss of work income, court-ordered alcohol education programs and more.

Of course, if you get fired from your job as a result of the arrest, that dollar figure would skyrocket.

Potential expenses from a DUI -- first offense

You don't even have to get convicted to start running up expenses on a DUI charge. But if you're found guilty, a first offense could mean that last drink cost you dearly. While the amounts vary by location and specific circumstances, here are some of the expenses you may realize: • Fines. • Court costs. • Attorney fees. • Bail. • Loss of job. • DUI "school." • Temporary loss of income. • Car towing, impounding. • Alternate transportation costs. • Car ignition interlock device. • Periodic blood testing. • Monthly monitoring fees. • Cost of incarceration. • Increased auto insurance premiums.

The financial impact of a DUI arrest on any one person can vary greatly depending on many factors, such as driving record, jurisdiction, blood-alcohol level, attorney fees and fines, not to mention the specific circumstances of the incident and whether there was an accident or if anyone was injured.

The Texas Department of Transportation says a June 2006 survey in that state showed the total costs of a DWI arrest and conviction -- for a first time offender with no accident involved -- would range from $9,000 to $24,000.

And while expenses can vary substantially by jurisdiction, in no city is a DUI charge cheap.

In 2000, when graduate student Kate S. was driving home from a party in Woodstock, Ga., she was involved in an accident. She was not found to be at fault for the mishap, but blood tests at the hospital later revealed she was over the legal alcohol limit and she was booked on a DUI charge. Some costs Kate had to pay included a $2,500 fine, approximately $3,000 in legal fees and insurance premiums that rose an additional $600 per year for the next five years.

"As part of my sentence, I had to go to what they call 'DUI school,' and one of the things we had to do was tally up how much it cost you. I came up with about $13,000 in all," says Kate.