Question:   I admit that I shouldn't have been driving.  I understand the seriousness of driving a car if you are drunk.  But I was out with my young daughter and we went to lunch and on the way home I got into a small accident with another car.  It wasn't my fault and there was no major damage involved.  I think the other driver was texting.  The accident was on North Point Parkway.

But the Alpharetta cops came and smelled alcohol and arrested me for DUI.  I asked if I could just drive home to Sandy Springs but he said no.  It's my first DUI but since I had my 10-year-old daughter in the car I also was charged with child endangerment. 

I read on the internet that if you have a child in the car and you are arrested for drunk driving that it counts as a second DUI.  One DUI is bad enough, but two drunk driving charges could easily get me fired from my job.

I want to ask if a child endangerment charge is considered a second DUI.

S.D. in Sandy Springs

Answer:   For driver's license purposes, a DUI with a child in the vehicle (child endangerment) is treated like a second DUI.  And getting two DUIs within 5 years means that you cannot get a work permit.  It causes a “hard” suspension of your license so you will not have a license or be permit-eligible for a certain amount of time.

To be clear, getting a DUI with a child in the car is treated as a second DUI for driver's license purposes but is not treated as a second DUI for purposes of criminal sentencing.  So since this is your first DUI charge, you cannot be sentenced as if you have had two DUIs.

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