San Diego DUI Lawyers Blog
As part of San Diego County’s “Avoid the 14” Summer Holiday Anti-DUI crackdown, a driver’s safety checkpoint was conducted by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department in the Vista Courthouse parking lot on August 22nd, from 3:30 until 5:30pm. During this operation, 300 drivers were screened and 22 people were cited. The citations included driving without a license, driving on a suspended license, and allowing an unlicensed driver to drive.
The San Diego Sheriffs and other local law enforcement will continue their efforts to arrest drunk drivers in connection with the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. This campaign will continue through the end of summer and the Labor Day holiday, August 17th through September 3rd.
If you are arrested for drunk driving, your driver’s license is automatically suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, 30 days after the arrest unless you request an Administrative Per Se Hearing, challenging the suspension, within 10 days of the arrest. In addition, once you plead guilty or you are convicted after a trial, the court will usually order your driver’s license suspended. (Note, the amount of time of the suspension depends on a variety of factors.)
If you choose to drive while your license is suspended and you are subsequently contacted by law enforcement, you will likely be arrested and charged with driving on a suspended license when the driving privilege was suspended for driving under the influence. The first conviction of such a charge carries a mandatory minimum 10 days in jail!!
Be aware, law enforcement often sets up these sting operations at the courthouses especially around the time of the MADD, Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, panel class, which is a required class for many people who are on probation for drunk driving. Therefore, if you are going to the MADD panel class, heading to court for your SAAU, Substance Abuse Assessment Unit, meeting, paying your fine, or doing any other business at the courthouse, you should not drive if your license is suspended.
Because of the mandatory minimum jail time, you will not want to put yourself at risk by driving until you are able to either get your driving privileges back in full or you obtain a restricted license. The restricted license will allow you to drive to, from, and during the course of your employment and to and from any court ordered DUI programs.
The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman is an exclusively DUI defense firm; however, we also assist people with DUI related matters such as driving on a suspended license.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving on a suspended license due to a DUI, contact the accessible, aggressive, exclusively DUI defense firm, The Law Offices of Susan L. Hartman, for a free telephone consultation to discuss your rights, defenses, and the best strategy on how to handle your matter. Call 619-260-1122 today or use the “Contact Us” form on this page.