Superbowl weekend is notorious for having an increased number of DUI arrests and this weekend, Tampa, Florida will be no exception. The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office aggressivley pursues drunken drivers, and Stephen Higgins, Esq. of Finebloom & Haenel, encourages drivers to take a cab or walk home if they have had too much to drink.
In fact, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is posting on its website that their will be “heightened patrol” on January 31 in Western Hillsborough and a complete “saturation” of officers on game day throughout Hillsborough County. The Tampa Tribune reported that last year, in Arizona, 544 individuals were stopped on suspicion of DUI.
“Fans who have flocked to the city and spent thousands of dollars to attend the game and have a good time could pay a higher price than expected if they got arrested for DUI,” Higgins stated. Once arrested, the legal ramifactions are an unplanned expense. “Aside from lawyer fees, individuals will incur expenses related to being placed in custody and potentially miss their flight home, spend several hundred dollars bonding out of jail and eventually have to pay court costs and probationary costs,” said Higgins. Law enforcement officers typically comment that “vacationers arrive on vacation and leave on probation.”
At the end of the night, a cab ride is much less expensive than the alternative and, perhaps more importantly, other drivers on the road are safer. If you have been arrested for DUI in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Sarasota or Manatee counties, contact Finebloom & Haenel, representing DUI clients statewide.