Anyone who has their license suspended by the Court or by DMV may be interested in obtaining a restricted license if they qualify. The Judge may allow the restricted license but in some cases, such as convictions for Refusal and the first year of a three year suspension for a second DUI, the code may not allow a restricted license at all. In the case of a DUI conviction the restricted license can only be obtained after enrollment in the ASAP program.
A restricted license can be obtained to allow a person to drive for the following reasons:
To travel to and from a place of employment;
To attend ASAP or alcohol rehabilitation program;
To travel during employment hours if operation of a motor vehicle is part of the employment;
To travel to and from school if the person is a student;
To travel for health care services, including for services for an elderly parent or other person in the household;
To transport a minor child under their care for school, day care and medical purposes;
To travel to court and to probation;
To travel for religious worship;
To travel for case monitoring for DCSE (Child Support Enforcement).
If a restricted license was not obtained at the time the license was taken by the Court, then that same Court can be petitioned to grant a restricted license.
Ignition Interlock
Another aspect of a restricted license is the ignition interlock system. Ignition interlock can be ordered by the Court as condition of a restricted license, and ignition interlock is required for anyone driving on a restricted license if they have multiple convictions for DUI or were arrested with a high blood alcohol level. There is a monthly fee to have the ignition interlock installed in a vehicle, and it requires a breath sample before it will allow the vehicle to be started. The ignition interlock devices also keep records of every attempt to start the vehicle and the records these devices produce have been used as evidence that the driver tried to start the vehicle after consuming alcohol.
