My DWI Story (How bad will it hurt?)

[Go Ducks]

Never blow on the breathalyzer people! It is a choice and it can only hurt you. If they have to blood test you it's going to take time and you BAC will go down. I've personally been let off the hook for choosing not to blow, even though the cops were trying to scare me. I passed all the balance and coordination tests and they tried to intimidate me by saying, 'if I were you I would take the breathalyzer." even though I said no. They tried to scare me again by saying,"OK then, step over to the car," like they were going to arrest me, but then let me go.

So let me get this straight... you were drunk driving. You knew that you were drunk driving. Yet after the cops pulled you over, you decided to get right back in your car and continue to drive drunk. You seem to be rather proud of this.

Plus, you are now happy to give other people advice on how to get away with drunk driving.

To the OP: if you can have it expunged from your records, definitely defer a year. However NEVER try to cover anything up. Answer every question by the book. Read the fine print about whether expunged offenses must be included. I have heard that when hospitals do background checks, they are able to access convictions that have been expunged from the record. Double check this by talking to a real lawyer (not me, who has just heard this through the grapevine).

I'll tell you what would be worse than not getting into medical school: getting kicked out your third year if they've found you've been anything less than 100% truthful on the application. What could be even worse than that? Going through all four years but not being able to get a license.

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[tn4596]

yea and also a .13 after a night sleep doesnt mean he was .4 the night before...pretty sure that is close to alcohol poisonning.

 

[BlueLabel]

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[NightGod]

To the OP: if you can have it expunged from your records, definitely defer a year. However NEVER try to cover anything up. Answer every question by the book. Read the fine print about whether expunged offenses must be included. I have heard that when hospitals do background checks, they are able to access convictions that have been expunged from the record. Double check this by talking to a real lawyer (not me, who has just heard this through the grapevine).

Pretty sure it actually varies by state. I know I've seen applications that specifically say that you must list all convictions, even expunged ones, unless you had it expunged in X, Y or Z. (I know Illinois is one of those, not sure on the others).

 

[Seven Costanza]

Dude, You have to defer.

Just chill for a year. Don't let the schools, know. if you get it removed for your record then just ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep it a secret.

Best of luck

Thanks for all the good advice. I will definitely check with my lawyer about the expungement process and whether or not to disclose it at the risk of hospitals finding out in the long run. I am also thinking about waiting for one more year.

 

[Seven Costanza]

OP, sorry if I missed it, but could you clarify what you mean by having the charges dismissed versus having them expunged? What were you actually convicted of? Were they dismissed or deferred?

I wasn't convicted of anything. My lawyer told me that the charges were going to be dismissed. If you check my record right now, you will see that I was charged for a DUI, but then it says the charges were dismissed. Once I get them expunged, you will no longer be able to see the charge at all. However, I was just thinking a background check might still show that I was arrested. It might not show what for but that would definitely raise questions. I am going to have to talk to my lawyer.

 

[DrMediterranean]

OP you need to wait a year. Do not apply this cycle. It will definitely effect your chances of getting into medical school, and even if you reapply the following cycle the schools will already know about the charge from your previous application. Sit this cycle out and improve your application in some way, it's the safest and the best option for your chances at med school.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

So let me get this straight... you were drunk driving. You knew that you were drunk driving. Yet after the cops pulled you over, you decided to get right back in your car and continue to drive drunk. You seem to be rather proud of this.

Plus, you are now happy to give other people advice on how to get away with drunk driving.

To the OP: if you can have it expunged from your records, definitely defer a year. However NEVER try to cover anything up. Answer every question by the book. Read the fine print about whether expunged offenses must be included. I have heard that when hospitals do background checks, they are able to access convictions that have been expunged from the record. Double check this by talking to a real lawyer (not me, who has just heard this through the grapevine).

I'll tell you what would be worse than not getting into medical school: getting kicked out your third year if they've found you've been anything less than 100% truthful on the application. What could be even worse than that? Going through all four years but not being able to get a license.

No, if I was drunk driving the law would have arrested me. I had 2-3 beers and had stopped drinking about 3-4 hours before, so I was in no way drunk. You may have missed the post where I said that my car full of friends were wasted so the car reeked of alcohol. When I rolled down my window all the officer could smell were alcohol fumes, so they had to pull me out. I was pulled over for speeding, but fought that in court and won.

 

[Caprica6]

I wasn't convicted of anything. My lawyer told me that the charges were going to be dismissed. If you check my record right now, you will see that I was charged for a DUI, but then it says the charges were dismissed. Once I get them expunged, you will no longer be able to see the charge at all. However, I was just thinking a background check might still show that I was arrested. It might not show what for but that would definitely raise questions. I am going to have to talk to my lawyer.

AMCAS asks for convictions, therefore, convictions are what will be reported back to most schools. However, some schools will ask you about arrests on their secondary. These schools most likely receive a more complete background check that includes arrests. If you avoid those schools, I think you will be safe applying this year. However, if it behooves you to apply to one of these other schools (state school, dream school, etc.) you should wait until next year, and make certain they do not ask you to include information regarding expundged arrests.

I think you'd be fine this year, but you have a lawyer so you should discuss this with him in further detail. Additionally, you can make inquiries to AMCAS and certiphi. Note that some schools do not use the AMCAS/certiphi background checks (you can see this on the AMCAS website). In those cases you could anonymously contact schools directly.

 

[MiracleforMD]

A chronic drinker of that magnitude would suffer from liver damage, and therefore would have more difficulty removing alcohol from the blood than a normal person. On the other hand, a chronic drinker might be more accustomed to the psychological effects of alcohol and thus behave more normally than an infrequent drinker at the same BAC. The more you know

No. More often that not chronic alcoholics metabolize EtOH faster than us normal folk. Up to .03 or "30" /hour.
The more you know.

yea and also a .13 after a night sleep doesnt mean he was .4 the night before...pretty sure that is close to alcohol poisonning.

Yes. He probably was well into the 4s and maybe even 5s depending.
Not alcohol poisoning for certain people, but for most 20-30 year olds, it could be very bad. At least passed the **** out.

 

[MiracleforMD]

It's really not all that unbelievable. I've had nights where I KNEW I was too drunk to drive and was still handing off my keys to friends late into the next day. Easier than you might think, especially if you're pounding strong mixed drinks all night. Have a couple Long Islands every hour for a night at the club, throw in a couple rounds of shots and it adds up fast.

Me too brother. I feel you, but it is usually a later night (bed at 2-3 AM) and up at sometime before noon (even as early as 7-8). This guy was talking about FIFTEEN hours later. That is like 2x-3x the amount of time to metabolize.

 

[NightGod]

Me too brother. I feel you, but it is usually a later night (bed at 2-3 AM) and up at sometime before noon (even as early as 7-8). This guy was talking about FIFTEEN hours later. That is like 2x-3x the amount of time to metabolize.

One particular instance I'm thinking of I was done drinking by 1AM and didn't feel anywhere close to sober until 5PM the next day (at which point I was handed a beer and started all over again-the joy of life in the Army Reserves~). At noon I was still WAY too drunk to drive. I also wasn't anywhere near blackout drunk when I stopped drinking the night before, it's just that the party was over. There haven't been many nights like that in my life, but I can definitely point to a handful of them where I wouldn't be surprised if I was blowing >.1 fifteen or so hours later.