VC 23153 (a) It is unlawful for a person, while under the influence of any alcoholic beverage, to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.

DUI’s for violating VC 23153 (a) are very serious criminal charges that can have negative consequences that last for 10 years or more.  These are misdemeanor violations, which are criminal offenses.  Misdemeanor violations will give the driver a criminal record for 7-10 years, which will show up on most background searches.

The penalties for violating VC 23153 (a) includes 2 points on the DMV record for 10 years, license suspension for 30 days to 10 months, possible jail sentence of 4 days to 6 months, and fines of $1,400 to $2,600 for the first offense. 

DUI offenses can double, even triple, a driver’s insurance rates for many years.

Second offense penalties will be more severe.

If charged with VC 23153 (a), it is highly recommended to hire an experienced attorney to help with this.  An experienced attorney will often get a far better outcome for a driver than that person could obtain on their own.

This is why you never want to accept the charges, plead guilty, and pay the fines for DUI’s.