Regrettably, it's true that tens of millions of people actually choose to operate a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This not just puts one's life at risk and puts passengers and others at risk as well, but being caught driving while impaired (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) will more often than not bring about severe penalties including driver's license suspension or cancellation, fines and even jail time. Quite often somebody who has been found guilty of DUI or DWI ultimately has an underlying drug abuse issue. A legal court system understands this, and it is therefore inclined to provide DUI and DWI Offenders drug treatment instead of other severe penalties because of their crime. Agreeing or obliging to take part in alcohol and drug treatment as a DUI/DWI Offender might not completely eliminate other penalties from the crime, but tends to decrease the severity of such consequences to a great extent. Particularly if the individual willingly takes part in drug and alcohol rehabilitation and is a first-time offender. Research indicates that a lot of folks who do receive drug and alcohol rehabilitation because of a DUI/DWI offense avoid the court system for similar charges down the road.