Drunk driving could cost $20,000

Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to pay for a drink at your best buddy's Super Bowl party, but if that last icy cold beer puts you over the legal limit, you'll be paying for it for years to come.

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. It'll take even longer to get past the staggering financial blow if you cause an accident -- or the emotional devastation if your actions cause injuries or worse.

Super Bowl Sunday is a notorious time for drunken driving and in many jurisdictions, law enforcement sets up checkpoints to catch intoxicated drivers. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, almost half (48 percent) of the traffic fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday in 2007 were alcohol related.

That's why the NHTSA offers downloadable promotional and party material on its Web site for its "Fans Don't Let Fans Drive Drunk" campaign.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has noted Super Bowl Sunday to be one of the most dangerous nights for drunk driving. In 2007, 67 people died in traffic crashes during the 24 hours of Super Bowl XLI, the group says.

Nearly 13,000 people were killed in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes alone in 2007, according to the NHTSA. Alcohol-related crashes cost about $51 billion every year. In 2006, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence.

One drink too many puts you at risk not only for 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.

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.