This is a guest post from the people at myduiattorney.org.
The Department of Motor Vehicles is a State level government agency existing in each State of the country that controls vehicle registration and driver’s licensing and this is the agency that will be directly controlling the processing of your DUI hearings as well as driver’s license revocation.
You may already be fairly familiar with the process that takes place after your DUI arrest; you will have twenty days to request a hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles in your State. The moment you get arrested, the DMV will impose some of its own suspensions as well as the suspensions imposed by the court which include automatic suspension of your license for a week because of a higher than legal BAC level.
After getting arrested and requesting a hearing, you will have to fight out your case either alone but preferably with a DUI attorney. In the event you lose and get convicted for DUI, there will be another set of penalties by the Department of Motor Vehicles which will be much severe and which will have to be faced by the offender.
These penalties set by the DMV will depend heavily on prior DUI convictions, if you have any; they will be harsher and more prolonged if you have prior conviction. The first time you are convicted of DUI, you will have to pay a mandatory fine of around $250 and this will vary from State to State, your license will also be revoked for a year.
If this is your second DUI conviction, then your fines will be up to $500 and your driver’s license will be revoked for three years with possible jail time of a year as well. But if this offense occurred within five years of your first offense, then the jail time may be of 20 days and if the second offense occurred within ten years of the first, then the jail time will be of 10 days.
Your third DUI conviction will be considered a Class 6 felony in most of the States and the mandatory fine for this will be up to $1000 maximum along with license revocation. If the third conviction is within five years of the first, then you will face six-month jail term and if it is within ten years of the first, then you will face 90 days jail term.
As far as ignition interlock devices are concerned, they are also an important component of DMV’s penalties for drunk driving. If you have been convicted for DUI twice within ten years then you will have to install an ignition interlock device that monitors your breath but this condition will vary from State to State. Failing to install this ignition interlock device can result in even more serious consequences including jail time, license revocation and a higher fine.
Since these penalties can be hard to deal with alone, it is best to hire a professional DUI attorney as soon as you get arrested for DUI so that you minimize your chances of getting convicted for DUI and facing any of these DMV penalties for drunk driving.
