According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are over 310,000 individuals with three or more DUI's (driving under the influence) convictions in California today. If a bill recently signed by Governor Schwarzenegger had been in effect when they received their third conviction, most of those people would have no driver's license today.
The bill, AB 1601, was signed into law on September 25, 2010 and on January 1, 2012 will officially give judges the authority to revoke an individual's driver's license for ten years if he or she receives his or her third conviction for drunk driving.
The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, was motivated to write the bill after San Mateo County Times ran a series of articles detailing the ease in which people with multiple DUI convictions get their licenses reinstated. In one example, police observed a seemingly drunk San Mateo man pulling into a Starbucks parking lot. The man was later found to have eight prior DUI convictions. The man was still allowed on the road because none of his prior convictions led to an accident involving bodily injury.
Details of the New California Law
The new law states that a court may order a license revocation for ten years for anyone with three or more DUI convictions in the past ten years. The law lists six considerations a judge must take into account when he or she contemplates revoking an individual's driver's license. These include:
- The person's level of remorse for the acts.
- The period of time that has elapsed since the person's previous convictions.
- The person's blood-alcohol level at the time of the violation.
- The person's participation in an alcohol treatment program.
- The person's risk to traffic or public safety.
- The person's ability to install a certified ignition interlock device in each motor vehicle that he or she owns or operates.
Although the term of the license revocation is ten years, a person may apply to have his or her license reinstated after just five years from the date of the last conviction.
However, eligibility requires that the person cannot have been convicted of any drug or alcohol-related offenses during the revocation period, must have successfully completed a driving-under-the-influence program ("DUI School"), and must not have been convicted of driving without a license during the period. Additionally, the driver must agree to have an ignition interlock system (which prevents operation of the vehicle if the driver fails a breath test) on his or her car for the first two years following reinstatement.
Another Tough DUI Law
Some say the law is too harsh. According to Jerry Hill and several law enforcement agencies that supported the measure, including the California Highway Patrol and the California State Sheriff's Association, that was the intent. In fact, when it was first introduced, the bill was even tougher.
The original version of the bill called for a lifetime driving ban for three or more DUI convictions, and would have allowed a judge to consider all previous DUI convictions, not just those occurring in the past ten years. The original bill also proposed mandatory jail time. The measure was watered down when lawmakers learned, in the midst of the current budget deficit debate, that it would cost the state nearly $10 million per year to jail the offenders.
The new law brings into sharp focus the importance of avoiding DUI convictions. California's DUI laws are among the toughest in the country. Even first-time DUI convictions carry a minimum two-day jail sentence, a fine, DUI School, and probation. Accidents involving injury or loss of life can result in a felony conviction, which carries a lengthy jail sentence.
Furthermore, anyone with a DUI conviction will, in most cases, see his or her car insurance rates increase. In some instances, insurance companies will even drop the policyholder altogether.
DUI convictions are obviously nothing to take lightly. And come January 2012, the new law takes effect and jeopardizes license reinstatement for many DUI offenders.
If you or someone you know is facing a DUI charge, contacting an experienced California DUI attorney is vital to mitigating the potential consequences of the a conviction.
