What Happens If You Get a DUI While Driving a Rental Car in Georgia?

DUI cases are generally complex. However, the situation is even more complex when the driver is pulled over in a rental car or a vehicle owned by someone else. Tourists, business people, and sometimes local residents rent vehicles, and a DUI arrest can make things more complicated. You may be breaching your contract with the rental car company. Driving a rented car, however, doesn’t alter the charges of DUI if you’re pulled over.

Georgia DUI laws apply to rental cars

Georgia DUI law applies irrespective of whether you own the car or not. According to Georgia Code 40-6-391, “a person guilty of driving under the influence when he operates or is in actual physical control of a moving vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any drug to the point where he is less safe to drive.”

Hence, it can be concluded that the person driving the rented car from an Atlanta airport or some other renting place in Georgia is equally liable as the one driving his own car.

What happens to the rental car after an arrest?

Police can’t just leave the vehicle after a DUI arrest in a rental car. In most cases, it’s towed away. In other cases, a less impaired driver may be able to drive the car to their destination. It’s on the company that owns the car to retrieve it from police. The rental car company will pass any charges onto the driver to retrieve the vehicle.

A DUI could violate the rental contract

Rental car contracts usually have some provisions regarding the use of the car. It could mean that driving under the influence violates the terms of the contract.

It is important because breaking the contract might have an impact on the benefits offered by the rental company. Everything depends on the contract itself, on the insurance, on the circumstances of arrest and whether there is any damage to the car.

That is why drivers must not think that buying extra rental-car coverage will guarantee covering all the expenses for the DUI case. You might have to pay these expenses out of pocket.

What if there was an accident?

The matter gets even more serious if the DUI arrest occurs after a traffic accident.

Besides dealing with the criminal charges related to the DUI, the motorist will also have to address any property damage or injury to another driver. The rental car company might have to write off the vehicle as a total loss.

Additional complicating factors may involve insurance coverage, which can be provided by multiple insurance policies.

Talk to a Roswell, GA, DUI Lawyer Today

Andrew L. Schwartz, P.C. represents the interests of Roswell residents facing DUI charges. Call our Cobb County DUI lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.