Driver's License Suspension
If you are arrested for drunk driving and you submit to a breath test and it shows .08% blood-alcohol content or higher, give a blood or urine sample collected for later analysis, or refuse to be tested, the arresting officer will take away your driver’s license. Further, he will give you a notice of suspension that also serves as a 30-day temporary license. If you hold a driver's license from another state, it will not be seized and the suspension will only apply to your driving privileges within California.
Thirty days after the arrest the suspension will go into effect and you will be without a license. However, it is within your rights to contest the suspension by demanding a hearing and receive an extension on your temporary license up until this appeal is resolved. To do so you must call the Driver's Safety Office of the Department of Motor Vehicles within ten days of the arrest to request the hearing. By requesting a hearing, you may gain an extension of your temporary license and a good Riverside DUI attorney may get the suspension thrown out.
DMV Procedures for DUI License Suspensions
This link provides a good source of information on the procedures for administrative DUI license suspensions followed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. (Written by the same lawyer who authored the standard textbook for drunk driving defense.)
Your DMV Record
If you would like to have your own copy of your California driving record (a ten year record), you can follow the simple instructions on this site.
Laws Governing DUI License Suspensions in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties
Provides the statutory scheme for California DMV license suspensions in drunk driving cases. The following is a simplistic summary:
- A first offender with BAC (blood-alcohol content) of .08% will have their license suspended for four months; but if a first offender refuses to submit to chemical testing the suspension is for one year.
- Second time offenders with a BAC over .08% will receive a one year suspension, but double if they refuse the chemical testing.
- If the offender is under 21 “zero tolerance” laws come into effect and a one year suspension is levied on a BAC over .01%.