If you get a DUI, the DMV will make you put an ignition interlock device in your car for six months. You'll have to blow into that to start your vehicle. This applies to any vehicle registered in your name. If you're not going to drive your car, but it's registered in your name, you've got to put the ignition interlock device in it.
Beginning January 1, 2019, California will expand the ignition interlock device (IID) program for most drunk driving offenses. To get your driving privileges back after a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI), you'll get an IID installed on your vehicle. Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 1046 into law.
If you sell the car to get it out of your name, you can go to court, and you won't have to put the ignition interlock device in the vehicle.
You want to consult with a DUI attorney who will advise you based on your DUI record. You also want to go through the DMV because the DMV is the one that enforces the law, along with the police. They will look at your driving record and what you did in your particular case and decide whether or not you're going to have to install an ignition interlock device.
What Exactly Is An Ignition Interlock Device?
An ignition interlock device is a device attached to your vehicle. You have to pay a certain fee per month for the ignition interlock device, and it will not allow you to start your car unless you blow into it hard enough for it to register whether or not you have any alcohol in your system.
If there's any alcohol in your system, you won't be able to start your car. Then, the court will be alerted that you have blown into the ignition interlock device with alcohol in the system. Part of your probation on a DUI is that you cannot drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in your system.
You've now violated your probation, and on a first-time DUI, you are looking at up to six months in jail. On a second DUI, you'll face up to a year in jail. How long you'll need to have an ignition interlock device installed depends on whether it's your first, second, or third DUI.
Typically, on a first DUI, you'll have to have the ignition interlock device on your car for six months, depending on your driving record and your blood alcohol level. Ultimately, it will be up to the DMV, but the legislature and the law limit them. If you get a positive result on your ignition interlock device, you will face a probation violation.
The issue will be whether or not your attorney can prove that you didn't have any alcohol in your system and that it was a false positive. If your attorney can prove that, you're not going to have any problems. If your attorney can't prove that, you're in a position where you could potentially face jail time.
How Can I Get Approved To Drive Right Away?
If you were recently arrested for a first DUI, they typically would take your driver's license away. They're going to give you a pink temporary driver's license. The temporary driver's license will be suitable to drive on for 30 days. After that, it will automatically be suspended.
Your defense attorney can call the DMV to have a hearing related to any suspension and ask for any break to stay until the hearing is had. Then, you'll be able to drive, at least up until you get your hearing. If the DMV decides to set aside the suspension, you'll get a letter in the mail.
You'll still have to deal with the court. They will say when any suspension starts and how long it is for. Your attorney will be able to go to court for you and try and convince the prosecutors to either dismiss the case or work out a resolution for you.
If you end up pleading guilty or no contest to certain charges related to a DUI, it will trigger specific ramifications with the DMV. Your attorney can guide you through the process, but you have to be proactive. You will want to go to the DMV and find out precisely what ramifications you are facing and what you need to do to drive lawfully. Call the Hedding Law Firm for help.