Independence Day – 4th of July is one of the biggest holidays for DUI’s.  Many cities set up DUI Checkpoints at various locations and randomly pull over people to check for alcohol or drug consumption. Because the 4th falls on a Wednesday this year, many police departments are setting up checkpoints this weekend to catch “before the holiday” travelers off guard.

Plan ahead and have a designated driver, a cab service or a friend or family member that will agree to pick you up if you plan on celebrating the holiday with alcohol or drugs.  Don’t take a chance by drinking or using while driving or you could end up making life much more complicated for yourself.

Did you know that a DUI offense can cost thousands of dollars, many hours of your time and will probably affect your work and personal life more than you think?  Not to mention the embarrassment!

www.onlineduiclass.com – We would LOVE to have your business but would rather have you be safe and not put others at risk.  DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.

Use our online BAC Calculator to estimate your Blood Alcohol Content at http://www.tomwilsoncounseling.com/bac-calculation.html.  If you are still unsure – don’t risk it!  

This notice has been sponsored by Tom Wilson Counseling Center.  The first and best solution for online dui, alcohol, drug, relapse, theft, anger, self-change, parenting and traffic safety classes.

Benefits of Tom Wilson Counseling Center Online Classes:

• Money Back Guarantee. If you have court approval for online classes we guarantee our classes will be accepted. Check the state where you received your DUI for requirements.

• Confidential. Your personal information and class participation is NEVER shared with anyone unless you specifically request it.

• Secure. Our shopping cart and classroom are both secured by an SSL Certificate so your personal information is safe with us.

• Simple and Convenient. Complete your class with an internet connection at any time in the privacy of your home, office, or library.

• Mobile Access. Registration and class can be completed using your mobile phone or tablet.

• LIVE Telephone Support. Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm, Mountain Standard Time 1.877.368.9909

• Email Information for general questions about what class to take and certification.

• Email Support for technical issues during registration or class participation.

“California DUI Arrests are Declining,” DMV Tells State Legislators

In May, 2012 the California DMV presented it’s annual report of the DUI MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM to the California State Legislature.

This report presents information on DUI arrests, convictions, court sanctions, administrative actions and alcohol-involved crashes from 2009 to 2010. In addition, the report examined repeat arrests by first and second DUI offenders over a period of twenty years. Here are some of the highlights of this report.

♦ Alcohol-involved crash fatalities decreased by 15.1% in 2010, the biggest decline since a decreasing trend started 4 years ago.

♦ Of the total number of crash fatalities, the percentage of alcohol-involved fatalities decreased from 41.1% in 2009 to 39.1% in 2010. However, the percentage of drug-involved fatalities increased from 23.2% to 25.4% during the same time period.

♦ The number of persons injured in alcohol-involved crashes decreased by 6.6% in 2010, following a decrease of 8.4% in 2009.

♦ DUI arrests decreased by 6.1% in 2010, following a decrease of 2.9% in 2009 and increases of 5.4% in 2008, 3.4% in 2007, and 9.4% in 2006. The DUI arrest rate declined by 6.5% in 2010 following a decline of 2.9% in 2009.

♦ 13.4% of all 2009 DUI arrests were associated with a reported traffic crash, compared to 14.2% in 2008. 5.2% of 2009 DUI arrests were associated with crashes involving injuries or fatalities, relatively unchanged from 5.5% in 2008.

♦ Among 2010 DUI arrestees, Hispanics (43.7%) again constituted the largest racial/ethnic group, as they have each year since 1992 (with the exception of 1999). Hispanics continued to be arrested at a rate substantially higher than their estimated percentage of California’s adult population (33.7% in 2010).

♦ The median (midpoint) age of a DUI arrestee in 2010 was 30 years. Less than 1% of all DUI arrests were juveniles (under age 18).

♦ Among convicted DUI offenders arrested in 2009, 73.0% were first offenders and 27.0% were repeat offenders (one or more prior convictions within the previous 10 years). The proportion of repeat offenders has decreased considerably since 1989, when it stood at 37%.

♦ The median blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of a convicted DUI offender, as reported by law enforcement on Administrative Per Se (APS) forms, was 0.15% in 2009, same as in the last 5 years, yet almost double the California illegal per se BAC limit of 0.08%.

♦ 10.1% of 2009 DUI arrest cases did not show any corresponding conviction on DMV records, which is relatively unchanged from 10.0% in 2008.

When You Can’t Get a License Outside of California Because California Suspended Your License

This article was Published at HubPages.com by CA Esq.in Cajon, CA.

Click here to read the original on HubPages

“I get many calls from people who get DUI’s in California, and get their California driver’s license suspended, but then move out of California to another state. Then they find out that state won’t give them a license because of the California suspension. If you’re in this situation, read on to learn what you can do to get that other state to give you a license.

Let’s say you were convicted of a first-time DUI in California and your license was suspended. In order to get rid of the suspension, the DMV requires you to complete a three month alcohol class. The CA DMV will not, ever, accept completion of an alcohol class from another state. The class must be taken in CA. It doesn’t matter that the court will accept an out of state program to satisfy its term of probation.

Now you move to, let’s say, Colorado. You are a trucker, and you obviously need a commercial license in Colorado to get a job and support yourself and your family. Your problem is that Colorado has a hold on your license because of the CA suspension.

One way you can fix that is to call DMV’s Mandatory Actions Unit in Sacramento, CA (916-657-6525) and ask for a “1650 waiver packet.” They will mail you the packet to your Colorado address. You must fill it out and return it. You will have to show proof that you actually live there, such as a utility bill with your name and address on it. By returning the finished packet to the DMV you are waiving your privilege to drive in CA. Then CA will lift the suspension and Colorado will then lift the hold they placed on your privilege to drive in Colorado. Then you can drive and work and support your family and continue on your happy life.

If you come back to CA within 3 years of the CA DMV processing the waiver and you want your CA license back, you will have to comply with the requirements that existed before, ie., complete the 3 month alcohol class in CA. If you come back and apply for a CA driver’s license after 3 years, you won’t have to take the class. Beware, though, that a person can only waive their privilege to drive in CA once in his/her lifetime.

So to sum up you have two options: 1) you can either come back to CA and complete the 3 month alcohol class, or 2) you can waive your privilege to drive in CA.

Remember, if you have a legal question, you should seek legal advice from a qualified attorney.  (Nothing written here should be considered legal advice.)

If you are required to complete DUI classes, you can complete your DUI Classes Online to Meet Court Requirements by getting approval form the court. 

Alcohol & Drug Awareness Classes

Drivers who got a DUI in California, but live out of state face a dilemma. How do they fulfill their obligation to the California court, and still be able to return to their home state. Fortunately, Tom Wilson Counseling Center has a solution. Clients seeking help have been referred by many California law firms whose clients we have helped, such as the Shouse Law Group . Sometimes the defendant is directly given our name by the California Courts such as  Los Angeles Superior Court. 

The first concern is complying with the California court requirements to complete a 3 month, 6 month, 9 month or 18 month DUI program. This become part of their court order.

After working with most of the courts in California for several years, our California Online DUI Classes for Out of State Offenders have become the accepted  program to help resolve out of state offender court obligations.

Every court requires proof of enrollment and proof of completion, which  our program promptly provides. Payment arrangements are available.

The large variety of classes offered by the program can be seen at this website.  

Injured workers who were prescribed opiates such as Oxycontin soon after their injury took much longer to return to work (if ever), as reported by California insurance companies. The prescription rate for opiates (painkillers) for injured workers in California skyrocketed 63% from 2001 to 2008.

The cost of an employee’s medical expenses and lost wages is about $13,000 on average. Insurance companies found the cost went up to $39,000 after the injured worker was prescribed opiates like Percocet. The cost went up to $117,00 per claim when the employee was prescribed Oxycontin, a more powerful and more addictive drug.

Physical therapy seems to help more than drugs, but the reimbursement to doctors for physical therapy has been much less than when they prescribe pain killers.

If you are injured, and in pain, and prescribed an opiate, yo may be going back to work , if at all because opiate treatment does little for permanent relief. Studies show that physical therapy holds the best hope for pain relief, but you may have to pressure your insurance provider to approve those services, that ironically  saves the insurance company money.

In cases where workers use other drugs to avoid the stronger narcotics, drug testing may find that employees may self-medicate with over the counter medications, illegal substances like marijuana or the more dangerous synthetic marijuana called “spice.”

Injured workers can learn more about the appropriate use of over the counter medications, stress relief and avoiding relapse by taking an online drug awareness class. Employers should carefully scrutinize what their workers are using by using random drug testing and referring them for a drug abuse assessment. When the injured worker and the employer work together, they both benefit.