Your friends might not let you dial or tweet drunk, but your real friends are the ones who will not let you drive drunk. The state does its part to discourage drunk driving by enforcing strict DUI laws, starting with sending you to jail for 2 days for your first offense. A second DUI lands you in jail for 10 days. Your third DUI is considered a felony. In Utah, DUIs stay on your record for 10 years. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 54 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in Utah in 2011 and 34 such fatalities in 2012.
Apart from the legal consequences, you also have to deal with higher insurance rates. Insurance rates are likely to remain high for years after your first DUI conviction. Let’s see just how much a single DUI conviction can affect your insurance rates.
At $1436, Utah’s average annual insurance rate is just below the national average as of December 2013. Most cities in Utah, however, have an average annual premium rate ranging from $1051 to $1290.
| City | Zip code | Average Annual Insurance Rate ($) |
|---|---|---|
| St. George | 84770 | 1,051 |
| Layton | 84040 | 1,091 |
| Provo | 84604 | 1,187 |
| Sandy | 84093 | 1,188 |
| Orem | 84097 | 1,199 |
| Salt Lake City | 84111 | 1,238 |
| West Jordan | 84084 | 1,257 |
| Taylorsville | 84084 | 1,257 |
| West Valley City | 84120 | 1,290 |
A single alcohol-related offense in West Valley City would increase your annual premium to $2,399. In Taylorsville too, a DUI would increase your annual premium to $2338. That’s a difference of more than $1,000 every year.
If you are convicted of a DUI, you could take a defensive driving course to reduce your premium. It might make you a better driver, as well as help you lower your insurance premiums. In Salt Lake City, a defensive driving course could help you bring your premium down to $1958 from $2303. In Sandy, a DUI would bring your premium up to $2210, and a defensive driving course could help you lower it to $1879.
