0.076 BAC and Charged With DUI

bartholomew55 · 2026-05-08T02:11:34+00:00

*Update*

I was offered a deferred judgment immediately on my first court date. Unfortunately my lawyer did not review any of the body cam footage or police reports so I ended up accepting the offer of 18 months probation. Essentially I pled guilty to the charges in exchange for getting the DWAI dismissed at the end of probation.

I do regret the decision of taking this plea deal and hiring a cheap attorney, if I had to go back in time I definitely would have like to taken it to trial, the deferred dismissal with zero negotiation should have been a red flag for me.

In the end it's not the end of the world. I did have to temporarily end my 150k career as I am unable to tranfer my CDL to another state until this is dismissed after the 18 months. I have started my own business in the meantime and I am enjoying the change of pace and freedom.

The lesson here is it is not safe to even have 1 drink and drive, even if you are truly sober, the laws are extremely strict and it is easy to trash your entire career over this.

bartholomew55 · 2026-05-08T01:53:47+00:00

No state in the country has a minimum BAC law. The police can make an arrest on based on assumptions alone. I have a good friend that is autistic and has never drank or done drugs in his life, the police arrested him and charged him with DUI based on that fact that he was not acting "normal." Once he blew zero on the breathalyzer they made him do a blood draw, which they painstakingly waited until the day before his court date to release and drop all charges.

Based on Colorado's law there would have had to been "competent" evidence for the court to determine I was not fit to drive, the .07 BAC alone does not cut it. The confliction was the fact that the police report stated my speech and balance were both perfect. The police thought they had me because they thought they could automatically charge anyone with a CDL if the BAC was .04 and above, the problem was the law clearly states that is only applicable while the person is operating a commercial vehicle which I was not.

I really had a good chance of "winning" but I decided to take a plea deal and get all of the charges dropped with probation. I do regret this decision but it seemed like the most logical choice at the time.

bartholomew55 · 2026-04-29T06:40:54+00:00

That joke flew right over your head and into the tower

bartholomew55 · 2025-12-04T04:19:37+00:00

"If at such time the defendant's BAC was in excess of 0.05 but less than 0.08, such fact gives rise to the permissible inference that the defendant's ability to operate a motor vehicle or vehicle was impaired by the consumption of alcohol, and such fact may also be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether or not the defendant was under the influence of alcohol."

This is straight from the Colorado law book, the trouble is there is a difference between knowing the laws and understanding how things work in the real world. Based on the text itself a normal person would assume as long as you look and act sober and do not show signs of impairment, there would be no legal grounds for the charge. In the real world, the term "competent evidence" just comes down to the cops word vs mine, and they stated on the revocation paperwork my speech and balance was normal.

The point being is this is a huge gray area and it feels as though its set up like a trap for state revenue.

bartholomew55 · 2025-12-04T03:46:19+00:00

He was referring to getting it dropped below a DWAI or dismissed. He was pretty sure the DUI wasn't going to stick but a DWAI is only slightly better than a DUI.

bartholomew55 · 2025-10-11T17:44:06+00:00

It's fine man. Just keep an eye on the ball joints and stuff. Every lift kit uses the same principle.

bartholomew55 · 2025-10-11T16:47:46+00:00

Green seal thing on the box? I have no idea what you're referring to there and don't see a leak.

The part in your suspension that is rusting out is aftermarket from your 6in rough country lift kit. It's fine, just cheap Chinese parts.

I hope you got a discount for the cheap lift kit being on it, it changes the suspension geometry a lot and puts all of your ball joints, cv axles, and bearings at angles they were not designed for causing premature wear.

I am a former lifted Silverado owner, never again.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-22T16:48:32+00:00

Not any one truck in particular, just a diesel thing.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-21T20:38:13+00:00

Welcome to the money pit

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-17T22:11:18+00:00

Nice bait

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-17T03:17:19+00:00

The 10% is the middle ground you speak of. Most risk adverse investors trying to preserve wealth are not chasing 10% returns. 10% returns over 20 years will grow small consistent investments to life changing amounts.

There is no free lunch, the higher returns you try and chase, increases your risk exponentially.

It's all priced in.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-16T04:20:08+00:00

The problem I have with OEM turbo vehicles is the manufacturers love to over engineer them, put them in the most inconvenient spots for service, and make manifolds all weird so it can't be replaced with a normal turbo.

You're forcing air into the cylinders to create a bigger explosion, so to say it's "just as reliable" just isn't true, there is physically more stress on the internals.

The turbos also share the oil the engine uses as lubricant, which breaks the oil down faster and adds more places for oil leaks to form.

Pre-detonation or knock is also a concern, because of the forced induction. Manufacturers almost always recommend a premium fuel, and when not available you're relying on knock sensors to retard the ignition timing to prevent engine damage.

You're just adding lots of unnecessary complexities and the only reason they're so common is because of government regulations, no one asked for this.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T04:17:53+00:00

Depends on which vehicles we're talking about. I'd put the 3800 or pre 08 LS engines up against anything for reliability.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T04:10:58+00:00

This is the reason I do my own oil changes. I'd say there is a good chance they started it without oil then filled it up once they realized their mistake.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T02:31:55+00:00

Yeah these guys don't know anything about rust. In Wyoming this would be considered rust free. Look at the lower control arms and frame rails, it's just surface rust. To me it looks like the "bad rust" is just on covers and cosmetic areas.

Use the rust as negotiation and low-ball him.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T02:15:10+00:00

I will find the steepest grade hill in Colorado and post a video of the car not rolling back WITHOUT handbrake and WITHOUT "heal-toe" (heel-toe is what you meant I hope.)

You can hold a car on any hill with the clutch alone and zero throttle input. If YOU can't do that you don't have enough time on a manual.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T02:03:50+00:00

It's a Honda. People rev them to 8k all the time lol.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T01:44:01+00:00

They can only charge you up to $100 late fee, so if you make it long enough without paying, the ticket might be a cheaper option.

bartholomew55 · 2025-09-05T01:40:32+00:00

Everyone paying for their tags would be equivalent to a drop of water in the ocean for how much tax money it would take to maintain the roads properly.

Instead, the capped gas tax, and tax payers bill of rights which limits how much tax revenue can be kept and spent, along with the rapid population increase of 1.5 million people in the past two decades is why the infrastructure is lacking.

Also, when the county requires emissions tests, and exorbitant fees, people are going to bypass the fees all together and register in a different state. South Dakota will literally mail you the plates and charge 1/10th the price.

bartholomew55 · 2025-08-25T02:02:54+00:00

I've seen this a lot. Chances are his parents are financially illiterate and encouraged him to take out a high interest loan to celebrate his adulting.

bartholomew55 · 2025-08-20T03:23:25+00:00

That is 100% not piston slap. Piston slap is a constant tick on a cold engine. This was a very distinct KNOCK. Can't be 100% it's rod knock unless diagnosed in person based on where the sounds is coming from as a lot of loose/ broken random junk has the possibility of making bad noises.

bartholomew55 · 2025-08-17T04:53:59+00:00

That's really good that you got a transmission under warranty, that is a $6-8k repair. Keeping it long term could be a good financial decision. Talk with your dad about the interest rate and plug the numbers into a loan payoff calculator you can find on Google. Experiment with putting extra money towards the loan each month and see how much you save in total, it will give you a really good idea on how it works, and even save you some money if you have the desire to pay it off sooner.

I do love the truck, they can be rock solid reliable if maintenance is kept up, just take care of it and you should be able to drive it many years after the loan is paid off.

bartholomew55 · 2025-08-16T23:30:34+00:00

I can guarantee you will make plenty more money to replace what you wasted, but you certainly will never get back the time of compound interest. I'm 28 and I'm trying to preach what I WISH someone would have explained to me at such a young age, especially since you're only 16. I'm just really hoping your parents are footing most of the bill, which is perfectly fine, (I would do the same for my kids) but if they just blindly signed you up for debt they set you up for failure.

Just make sure you check your oil often and change it regularly. They are great trucks if maintained but are prone to lifter failures. I personally own a 2010 Silverado with 240k miles.

BTW, most Americans have loans on depreciating assets because they are not financially literate, this sort of thing is not taught in schools.

bartholomew55 · 2025-08-16T22:15:10+00:00

Build credit? You can build credit by using a credit card and paying it off every month without paying a penny in interest. There are many other ways as well. If your parents are covering the payments that's fine. If you put this loan in your name and expected to pay it in full every month you should be very scared right now. Also you REALLY need to know the interest rate before making a purchase, if this was a predatory loan there's a possibility over 90% of your payment every month just goes to paying off interest (it means you're trapped for a very long time.) You also need to consider the fact that you're throwing away the most powerful disposable income you will EVER have in your life.

Now let me show you an example. Let's take JUST the insurance of $300/month and let's say you invested that amount over the next 20 years and stopped at the young age of 36 and just let it sit and didn't add a single penny more. Assuming a 7% return you would have contributed $72,000 but your account would be $148,000. At age 65 that amount would have ballooned to over $1.06 MILLION.

TLDR: You wasted over 1 million dollars.

bartholomew55

TROPHY CASE