Can the DMV Suspend Your License After a DUI Arrest in California?
Well, yes they can and they usually will if your driving under the influence (DUI) arrest involved alcohol. Many people mistakenly believe that a court of law where you have to defend a DUI charge is the only one who can suspend your license.
What Does the DMV Actually Suspend – Your License or Driving Privilege?
Let’s talk about when DMV may get involved in the suspension of your privilege to drive a motor vehicle in the State of California. Please take note that it is your PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE a motor vehicle on the roadways that is being suspended…not only that little identification type card you may carry in your wallet.
There are many people who do not own or possess that little card with their photo on it…and their privilege to drive on the roadways can still be suspended. Yes, by law you are supposed to have that little card in your possession if you are driving. And yes a cop will always ask to see it if you are stopped on the streets. But if you do not have it on you, a cop will run your name through the computer system to check to see if one was issued to you and whether it is still valid. If it has been previously suspended, that will show up in the computer.
How a DUI Traffic Stop Can Lead to License Suspension
What are some of the ways that DMV may suspend or restrict your license? You may be cruising the streets of the Coachella Valley in one of our fine cities or rural areas and have the misfortune of making a bad turning movement or run a stop sign or red light and a cop sees you commit that bad move.
Because they are suspicious by nature and think that a majority of the public is driving under the influence of alcohol, they will stop you for your one bad move. This gives them the opportunity to make face-to-face contact with you while you are seated in your car or if they order you out of the vehicle. If after making contact, the cop believes you may have been drinking alcohol prior to getting behind the wheel of your car, he will probably ask you to get out of the car and perform some field sobriety tests.
How Breath Test Results Affect Your DMV Suspension
One of these voluntary tests will probably be a breath test right there at the scene of the stop. If the result of the breath test indicates a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater, he will probably place you under arrest and give you further chemical tests to determine your level of intoxication.
At that point the law allows that officer to immediately confiscate your driver’s license. After he does so, he will give you a paper that is an Administrative Per Se Order of Suspension/Revocation and Temporary License Endorsement. This paper not only advises you of the suspension, but it also serves as a 30-day temporary license for you to use.
What Happens If You Refuse a DUI Chemical Test in California?
If you were to refuse to take the chemical tests to determine your level of intoxication after your arrest, then it is considered a refusal to submit to the test and then your license can be confiscated for that refusal to submit to the test.
Will the DMV Still Act If the Officer Doesn’t Take Your License?
Note, even if the cop forgets to take your license but still gives you the Administrative Per Se Order, DMV will follow up on that and take action.
Special Cases: Underage, Commercial Drivers, and DUI Probation
There are variations of the above scenario if the driver is under the age of 21 years or the driver was driving a commercial vehicle or if the person is on probation for a prior DUI conviction.
Why You Shouldn’t Fight a DMV DUI Suspension Alone
All of these variations and possibilities and the DEFENSES to these actions by the cops and their DMV friends are complicated and you should not try navigate them by yourself unless you don’t care if you lose your license.
If you want the best possible chance to continue to legally drive on the mean streets of the Coachella Valley, call us and we can help you. We are recognized by attorneys and others in the court system and on the streets as being the best from Palm Springs to Thermal and everywhere in between at defending these cases.
Call a DUI Lawyer in the Coachella Valley Today
If you still have questions about this or find yourself in DUI arrest trouble, call us and we can answer all of your questions and defend you in court against these tests.
Contact us today for a free consultation and take the first step towards protecting your freedom. call us now (760) 345-4777 or text us (760-898-0207) for a free consultation to discuss what your legal rights are and possible defenses in your case.