THE CZECH IS IN THE MAIL
Happy new year.
I hope you were able to close out 2025 on a positive note and ring in 2026 accordingly. Some of you probably stayed up until midnight just to see the new year come in, while some of us went to bed before the clock struck 12.
Some of you adults might have brought in the new year with a beverage or two of choice. If so, I hope you did so responsibly.
Hopefully, you guys were able to designate a non-drinker to serve as the driver or pay a small fee for a ride-hail service such as Uber or Lyft. Drinking and driving is not worth it.
A first-time offense for driving while intoxicated is a Class B misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,000 or three to 180 days in jail. Your license can also be suspended for a year and you can be ordered to enter an alcohol-education program.
A second offense could result in a $4,000 fine, a year in jail or two years of having your license suspended. It’s also an upgrade to a Class A misdemeanor.
A third offense becomes a thirddegree felony. Those punishments range from a $10,000 fine, two to 10 years in prison or two years or more of a suspended license.
You don’t want to get behind the wheel after drinking with a child passenger, either. That’s a state jail felony with consequences of 180 days to two years behind bars or a $10,000 fine.
Another scenario worth avoiding is causing an accident that results in death while drinking and driving.
Those punishments are felony charges with significant prison time.
We just concluded the holiday season, which is a time when DWI arrests are high. The temptation for having “one too many” exists because of parties, gatherings and stress.
One of my favorite one-liners about the pressures of the holidays is in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” when Chevy Chase, who played Clark W. Griswold Jr., asked John Randolph, playing Clark W. Griswold Sr., how he handled holiday tensions.
The elder Griswold replied, “I had a lot of help from Jack Daniels.”
I hope in his infinite wisdom Clark Sr. had a designated driver or drank at home. They didn’t have Uber or other services in 1989 — the year the movie was released.
Taxis, ride-hail vehicles or having a designated driver costs a lot less than getting pulled over by law enforcement. I’d much rather pay a ride-hail fee or give a friend a few bucks for gas than get behind the wheel and risk jail or thousands of dollars in fines — or both.
Getting a ride home after partying isn’t just for the holidays, it’s a practice for the entire year. If you want to drink the night away, pay someone else to take you home.
It’s cheaper — much cheaper — than drinking and driving.
Chlapek is the area editor of the Elgin Courier and Taylor Press. He can be reached at jason.chlapek@ granitemediapartners. com.
