Birmingham License After a First Offense DUI Charge

Many times a drunk driving charge arises from a simple misunderstanding or a miscalculation in one’s ability to drive. However, it is also common that someone drives drunk on a frequent basis and this just happens to be the first time they are caught.

Getting a DUI charge may involve penalties and fines, and these penalties could involve your driver’s license. You should seek the services of a DUI lawyer regarding your license after a Birmingham first offense DUI charge.

If there is a conviction to the full charge, drunk driving involves:

• 30-day hard suspension
• 180-day restricted license.
• $125 reinstatement fee

There are varying degrees of drunk driving, including operating with a high BAC and operating while visibly impaired. Those each have different sanctions to an individual’s license after a Birmingham first offense DUI charge. The operating with a high BAC, similar to an OWI, has six points. It has a 45-day hard suspension, meaning no driving for 45 days.

There is an available 320-day restricted license, which allows someone to drive to and from and during the course of business, to and from school, to and from probation and probation-related activities, and to and from regular medical appointments for a serious medical condition for the person or a close family membern.

To get that on the high BAC, a person must provide proof of the installation of an ignition interlock device in their vehicle. An ignition interlock device attaches to the car’s battery and prevents the vehicle from being started without providing a clean breath sample prior to turning on the vehicle. The device does have issues; it is not a flawless device. One of the issues is the device can cost almost $200 a month. Outside of just the regular fines, costs, and potential driving responsibility fees, it could cost almost $2,000 with installation and removal fees to put that device in their vehicle for the 320 days.

The individual must wait until the end of the year before they can get their plastic license back. There is also a driving responsibility fee that is being phased out over four years and in 2019 will be completely gone. It was originally $1,000 a year for two years. Depending on which year the person got stopped, it can be a possibility that they are going to have to pay some percentage of that driving responsibility fee.

As for operating while visibly impaired, it drops the points from six to four points, removes any hard suspension period, and changes the restricted period to 90 days. The restricted license is the same on an OWI, a high BAC, or an impaired as far as where a person can go. There is no time limitation on it, but with an impaired, it is only three months versus an OWI of five months after a suspended period and 10 and a half on a high BAC after a suspended period.

After three months, the person is eligible to receive their full driver’s license back. Even though on an impaired and on a regular operating while intoxicated, an ignition interlock device is not required under the Secretary of State, it is a possible sanction. It depends on the judge’s wishes for sentencing because it can be a testing condition that the judge orders on any drunk driving.

It is essential to reach out to a dedicated attorney to learn more about your license after a Birmingham first offense DUI charge. A lawyer could make sure your case is handled in a fair manner, while also guiding you through the process to make the situation easier for you.