Driving on a Suspended License

Driving on a suspended license can occur with a variety of permutations. The most significant of which is the reason for the original suspension. Penalties for this vary greatly.

For example, being suspended because of a failure to appear for a traffic ticket has much less punishment attached than being caught driving while suspended for a DUI. The statutory punishment for driving while suspended for a DUI is ten days in county jail and the impound of your vehicle for thirty days at your expense.

Further, being caught while driving on a suspended license and having a prior conviction in the past five years will also lead to enhanced penalties.

The most complicated aspect of driving on a suspended license is when it has been suspended as the result of a DUI, a violation of 14601.2(a) of the Vehicle Code. DUI suspensions are complicated because they can occur on either or both of two different bases. The first type might be due to the Admin Per Se suspension. This occurs when you have been given a notice of suspension on the day of your arrest and you have lost the DMV administrative hearing. This results in a four month suspension but, after waiting thirty days, you may apply for a restricted license provided you file proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 and proof of enrollment in a first offender program. You will then be given a restricted license for five months, allowing you to drive to and from, and in the course and scope of your employment, and to and from the first offender program.

What can also occur in the case of a DUI is an additional suspension if you are convicted in court of a violation of 23152(a) or (b) of the Vehicle Code. In that case, a couple of weeks after you are convicted, the DMV will send you a notice that you are suspended effective the date of your court conviction, for a period of six months and until you file proof of completion of a first offender program (AB541). Unlike the Admin Per Se suspension, you do not have to wait thirty days to apply for a restricted license; you may do so immediately, as long as you have proof of insurance (SR-22) on file and proof of enrollment in the first offender program. If your conviction in court occurred in Los Angeles County, you will also be required to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for five months.

Where things can get tricky is in the timing of these two types of suspensions. Often, the suspension from a lost DMV Admin Per Se hearing can occur much earlier than the suspension due to the court conviction, leading to a longer overall period of license restriction. It's important to understand this and discuss this with your attorney.