Amateur hour is upon us. The one night a year when folks go out to forget about the troubles of the past and look forward to the promises of tomorrow. Some will go to parties in the homes of others, while the more adventurous will head out to bars, taverns and hotels. No matter where you decide to go tonight, be safe. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive, and certainly don’t text and drink and drive. If you must go out, you may want to think about a taxi or a designated driver.

I took the time to call my good friend and office mate, Attorney extrodinare Patricia Woods. She is the queen of all things DUI and she offered several tips. For one, she tells me that the DUI laws will change at the stroke of midnight tonight and if you blow over a 1.5 or if you are a second offender, your car will sit in an impound lot until you can afford to put a breathalyzer test on your ignition. The rule of thumb according to Ms. Woods is that if you have had anything to drink don’t blow. It makes sense, the less evidence they have, the harder it is to prove their case. You should also know that before you are pulled over, camera’s inside the squad car are rolling. So don’t say anything foolish because you are on candid camera. Be polite, don’t cry, don’t beg, and certainly don’t be rude to the officer who is just doing his job. Keep it short, keep it sweet, be compliant and don’t speak when you don’t need to. You may have the most magnetic of personalities, but I assure you the officer is not looking to make a new buddy, so don’t try. For the love of Pete, don’t fall asleep.

Here is a tip a family member learned the hard way. If you aren’t the one the officer is talking to, keep your mouth shut. No help is needed here and if you try and come to the defense of your pal, you will end up suffering the same fate.

Remember, you may be the best driver in the world, but if some newbie decides to rear end you, the cops will come and all they need to do is catch a hint of alcohol and then your driving skills will no longer matter.

In closing, have a plan. If you or a friend do go downtown, you can have someone bail you out, but if a plea bargain is struck, you will more than likely have to do some form of jail time so why not get it in when your surrounded by other individuals suffering the same fate. Sleep it off in the confines of 201 Poplar and get your hours in now. When you get out, or if you think about it, when you’re going in, have a friend call Patricia, AKA “Pat The Chick Attorney” at (901) 722-8283. I tell clients to put both mine and Pat’s number on a card behind their driver’s license. She even said she would check her messages in the morning. Name another attorney that will do that on New Years Day. If you do get popped tonight, you will more than likely have your initial setting monday morning. If you don’t have either of our number’s handy, call us after you request a continuance monday morning. If you call our office, we don’t handle DUI’s, but we will make sure we get you in touch with Pat. So don’t tempt fate, get that card, write 901-761-5353 for us and 901-722-8283 for Pat and put it in your wallet/purse now, then go out and be safe.

Happy New Year, from all of us at THE JONES LAW FIRM.