Limited Driving Privileges in Youngstown

A good Youngstown OVI lawyer like Sean Logue can explain the requirements in the law for a person to receive limited driving privileges after an OVI arrest.

Once a person has been arrested for OVI, their driver’s license will be suspended by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. This is called an ALS, or administrative license suspension. An appeal of this must be filed immediately following the arrest. Failure to do so, or if you do it but it is denied, means you must serve the entire ALS, regardless of the disposition of your case.

Limitations of Driving to Work Privileges

There are certain time restrictions to the granting of limited driving privileges following a court-ordered license suspension. This means that requests made during these time periods will be denied.

• First OVI: first 30 days after suspension date
• Second refusal to submit to BAC test within 6 years: first 90 days after suspension date
• Third refusal to submit within 6 years: first year after date of suspension
• Fourth refusal to submit to chemical test within 6 years: first three years following suspension date

If a driver has had three or more OVI convictions, or has pled guilty to OVI three or more times in a 7 year period, he cannot be given Limited Driving Privileges.

Court-Ordered OVI Suspensions and Limited Driving Privileges

A person with a court-ordered OVI suspension can be granted limited driving privileges for the reasons listed below, and for anything else the judge deems necessary. The time limitations explained above apply here: there is a period of time following any OVI arrest when the driver must suffer through the suspension. After this time has “been served,” he can petition the court to allow him limited driving privileges.

To retain some driving privileges, the driver must file a petition with the court after they receive the notice that their license has been suspended. If approved, the driver will be allowed to operate a motor vehicle for the purposes of going to school or work, to doctor and court appointments, driving minor children to school or daycare, or attending court-ordered treatment sessions. Also included in the list is taking a driver’s license or CDL license test.

The paperwork requesting these Limited Driving Privileges must be filed with the court in charge of the place the driver was arrested at. This could be a county court or a municipal court. If the driver was a minor, he must file his request in juvenile court.

If a driver’s application for occupational driving has been approved, the law may require him to pay for an ignition interlock device to be installed on his car, or for his car to have restricted (“party”) plates.

An ignition interlock device will keep the vehicle from starting until the driver blows into it and the result is alcohol-free. If the results show the driver was drinking, the car won’t start. The device also randomly tests the driver’s breath while going down the road and will shut the car off if alcohol use is detected.

In some cases, the ignition interlock and party plates are optional tools the judge can use, but in other cases, they are required by law.

For a driver to be granted limited driving privileges, there are a few mandatory requirements that must be met:

1. Pay a filing fee to the court
2. Get an order from the court that modifies the suspension
3. Have and maintain a driver’s license that has not expired
4. Stay compliant with all requirements for reinstatement and suspension
5. Show the court proof of car insurance (also referred to as financial responsibility), and file that proof with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and maintain it for however long it is required.

Youngstown OVI lawyer Sean Logue understands you need to be able to drive to keep your job or care for your kids, even after an OVI conviction. Call him for assistance at (330) 992-3036.