ND DOT emphasizes how much a DUI can cost

(WDAY TV) - The North Dakota Department of Transportation is taking a new approach in encouraging people not to drink and drive this holiday season. They are offering more than just fatality statistics and hitting you right in the wallet.

The North Dakota DOT is starting a new campaign against drinking and driving. The main emphasis is how much money getting caught can cost you.

They say a first drunken driving offense can cost up to 10 thousand dollars; nearly 7 thousand in higher insurance rates, around 25 hundred in attorney and court fees and other costs like an alcohol evaluation, towing charges, and fines.

North Dakota Highway Patrol troopers say starting in a week they will be in full force.

“Not only do we have a lot of motoring people going down the roads but you've also got roads and weather to contend with also.”

Troopers say 52 of the 134 fatalities on North Dakota highways this year were alcohol related.