Driving Privileges After An Anne Arundel DUI Charge
Being charged with your first DUI offense in Anne Arundel County not only can result in jail time and fines, but also a license suspension in most cases. Below, an Anne Arundel County DUI lawyer discusses the different factors that impact driving privileges after a first DUI offense in Maryland. For more information on your charge call and schedule a consultation today.
What Happens To Your License After A DUI?
That’s going to depend on what happened at the breathalyzer in the police station. There are three sets of potential sanctions for an individual’s driver’s license at the MVA based on the first offense DUI.
Low Blow
The first penalty is the penalty for a low blow, a blow between 0.08 and 0.14. If an individual blows that 0.08 to 0.14 range, then the penalty to their license is a 45-day administrative suspension that can be modified; which basically means they can have a work permit to drive to work, to school, to and from alcohol classes, to and from any kind of medical appointment for themselves or their family and that will be good for the entire 45-day period. In order to get that restricted license, you do need to request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings which is something that your lawyer can advise you on and should advise you on the first time that you speak to them.
High Blow
The second potential set of penalty is for a high blow case. That’s a case where there’s a blow that is 0.15 or higher. If an individual blows a 0.15 or higher, then MVA will suspend their privilege to drive for 90 days. There’s no possibility of a work permit during those 90 days. The only type of modification that they’re eligible for requires them to install ignition interlock device in their vehicle and maintain that interlock for a period of one year. So in other words, it’s either a 90‑day hard suspension or one year with an ignition interlock device.
Refusal
The third set of penalties are for a refusal. That penalty is a 270-day hard suspension, again cannot be modified, no work permits allowed or one year participation in the ignition interlock program which is exactly the same as the penalty for a high blow. So those are the three sets of penalties for your driver’s license in Montgomery County DUI cases.
Factors That Determine Your Driving Privileges
Those are the factors whether or not you blew and then what you blew which determine which class of sanctions you fall under.
You can request that the suspension be modified but the actual penalty is just going to be determined by if you blew and what you blew and any kind of prior suspensions.