Sadly, it's true that tens of millions of people decide to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Doing this not just puts one's life in danger and puts passengers among others at risk too, but being caught driving drunk (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) will usually lead to serious penalties including driver's license suspension or cancellation, monetary penalties as well as prison time. Quite often a person who has been found guilty of DUI or DWI ultimately has an underlying substance abuse problem. A legal court system knows this, and it is therefore inclined to provide DUI and DWI Offenders drug rehabilitation as an alternative to other serious penalties for crime. Agreeing or obliging to participate in alcohol and drug treatment as a DUI/DWI Offender might not completely eradicate other penalties from the crime, but sometimes decrease the degree of such penalties to some large degree. Specifically if the person willingly participates drug and alcohol rehab and is also a first time offender. Studies have shown that a large proportion of people who do receive drug and alcohol rehab because of a DUI/DWI offense avoid the court system for comparable charges later on.