|
My license is suspended – How can I
get Driving Privileges
It depends. There
are many ways that a person’s driving privileges are suspended. Below
is a summary of some of the ways that your license can be suspended as
well as the types of suspensions that you can file a
Petition for Driving Privileges during the term of the suspension
in the Oberlin Municipal Court. Although the summary may be
informative it is not intended as legal advice. If you have any
questions you should always consult an attorney that has knowledge in
this area.
Types of
Suspensions
There are two
categories of suspensions, Court Suspensions and Administrative or
Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) Suspensions.
Court
Suspensions
A Court
Suspension is what you think it is. When you are charged with certain
types of offenses a Judge may or sometimes is required to suspend your
license after you have been convicted. There are over 50 different
types of offenses that your license may be suspended. If you receive a
Court Suspension only the Court that suspended your license has the
authority to grant driving privileges for that suspension. In some
cases a court may not grant driving privileges. Examples of some of
the most common Court Suspensions are:
1.
Drug Suspension
A Judge must suspend your license for
a minimum period of 6 months up to 5 years if you are convicted of any
type of drug offense. This includes the offenses of possession of
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
2. Operating a Vehicle Under the
Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (OVI)
A Judge must suspend your license for
the following periods if you are convicted of OVI as follows:
1st offense in 6 years: 180
days to 3 years – no judge is authorized to grant privileges for the
first 15 days
2nd offense in 6 years: 365
days to 5 years - no judge is authorized to grant privileges for the
first 30 days
3rd offense in 6 years: 2
years to 10 years - no judge is authorized to grant privileges for the
first 180 days
4th offense in 6 years: 3
years to Life - no judge is authorized to grant privileges
6th offense in 20 years: 3
years to Life - no judge is authorized to grant privileges
3. Driving under certain types of
suspensions or restrictions
A Judge must suspend your license if
you are convicted of certain driving under suspension offenses and may
suspend your license for certain driving under suspension and other
driving related offenses. Examples are:
Driving Under Suspension or in
Violation of a License Restriction – Mandatory Suspension up to 1 year
Operating a Motor Vehicle Without
Valid License 2nd or More in 3 years – Mandatory Suspension
up to 1 year
Driving Under Suspension or
Cancellation – Mandatory Suspension up to 1 year
Failure to Reinstate License – Judge’s
option up to 1 year suspension
Driving Under an OVI (Operating a
Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs) Suspension –
Mandatory Suspension up to 1 year
Driving Under a 12 Point Suspension –
Judge’s option up to 1 year
Wrongful Entrustment of a Motor
Vehicle – Mandatory Suspension up to 1 year
4.
Other common offenses
A Judge must suspend your license if
you are convicted of certain other offenses and may suspend your
license for certain other offenses. Some examples are:
Reckless Operation – Judge’s
option 6 months to 3 years
Failure to Comply with Order or Signal
of Police Officer – Mandatory 3 years to Life with no privileges
available
Street Racing – Mandatory 30 days to 1
year
Stopping for School Bus Violation –
Judge’s option up to 1 year
Hit Skip Public or Private Roadway –
Mandatory 6 months to 3 years
Administrative
or Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) Suspensions
A BMV suspension
is a suspension that is issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. When
you receive a BMV suspension you are sent a notice of the suspension
at your last known address with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. There
are over 25 different types of administrative or BMV suspensions. If
you receive a BMV Suspension in order to request driving privileges
you must file a
Petition for Driving Privileges in a Municipal Court in the
County where you reside. The filing of the Petition does not
guarantee that you will receive driving privileges. You must not
have any other suspensions pending in order to qualify for driving
privileges and the BMV or their representative can still object to the
granting of privileges. You must also prove that you have insurance.
Examples of some of the most common BMV Suspensions are:
1. Failure to Maintain Insurance
(these are also referred to as “non-compliance suspensions” by judges
and lawyers and the BMV)
The law requires all persons that own
or drive a vehicle to maintain proof of financial responsibility
(insurance) for any vehicle. A person that does not maintain insurance
loses his/her driving privileges. The most common way that the BMV
finds out that a person did not have insurance is when they receive a
traffic ticket. When you receive a traffic ticket you are required to
provide proof of insurance. If you do not show proof then the Clerk of
Court notifies the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that you did not have
insurance. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles then sends you a notice
suspending your license unless you prove that you did have insurance
on the date that you received the ticket. Another way the BMV
finds out that a person did not have insurance is that the BMV sends
random requests to drivers and owners of vehicles requiring them to
show that they have proof of insurance on a specific date. If proof is
not shown a suspension is issued. The length of the suspension and the
opportunity for privileges is included in the notice. The suspensions
are:
1st offense in 5 years: 3
month suspension
2nd offense in 5 years: 365
days - no judge is authorized to grant privileges for the first 15
days
3rd offense or more in 5
years: 2 years - no judge is authorized to grant privileges
2. Implied Consent Suspensions
The law provides that any person who
operates a vehicle is deemed to have given consent to submit to an
alcohol test to determine his/her level of alcohol. If a person
refuses to submit to the test or if the person submits to the test and
tests over the legal limit then the person receives an administrative
license suspension from the BMV as follows:
·
Refusals-
1st refusal in 6 years: 1
year suspension
2nd refusal in 6 years:
2 year suspension
3rd refusal in 6 years:
3 year suspension
> 3rd refusal in 6 years: 5
year suspension
Test over limit -
1st test over limit: 90 days - no judge is authorized
to grant privileges for the first 15 days
Test over limit
and 1 prior OVI in 6 years: 1 year- no judge is authorized to grant
privileges for the first 30 days
Test over limit
and 2 prior OVI in 6 years: 2 years - no judge is authorized to grant
privileges for the first 30 days
Test over limit
and > 2 prior OVI in 6 years: 3 years
3. Twelve Point Suspensions
If a person is assessed 12 or more
points in a 24 month period then the BMV issues a Twelve Point
Suspension. The suspension is for a 180 day period.
|
