Daily DUI Blog | California

With the new year approaching we are going to see some new laws on the books in California. An extremely hot topic is the usage of Marijuana, especially in vehicles. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) wants to regulate the use of marijuana and marijuana products not only while driving; but also, for people riding as passengers in your car. If a police officer pulls a vehicle over for smoking or ingesting marijuana products while driving or views a riding passenger consuming marijuana, the driver can be ticketed. The consequences of this ticket will be "points" (negligent vehicle operator points) being added to your driver’s license. In addition to the ticket fines, "points" means a rise in insurance premiums.  *Please refer to the "Stoned Driving" Blog article below, for a discussion on Marijuana DUI in California. 

In California it is illegal to drive with your blood alcohol content being over at .08% or higher. *Remember the BAC for commercial vehicle drivers and under age drivers is much less. For the former it's .04% and for the latter it's .01%.  Please  reference the  table below to provide an estimate for you to learn more about how many drinks you can legally have before driving in California. *Chart is provided by the California Driver’s Safety Office of the DMV.

If you are under the age of 21 in California and your license is suspended for a DUI you probably have anxiety and are in an utter state of panic. Don't be. There are always legal solutions. The solution for you is a Critical Need Driver’s License in California. If you are eligible you can apply for this license under the theory that there is no alternative transportation that you can take and there is a Critical Need for you to have a driver’s license. Keep in mind that the Critical Need Driver’s License is applicable only to people under the age of 21, who have a critical need to get to school, work or medical appointments.

Once you have been arrested for suspected DUI in California, you will obtain a pink piece of paper from the arresting officer or agency. This pink document will act as your driver’s license for the next 30 days. If your license is ultimately suspended by the DMV and you apply for a restricted drivers license or let the suspension time period pass, you will need to obtain the proper car insurance before the DMV will reinstate your driving privileges. That special insurance is called SR-22 insurance and is simply “high risk” insurance that is required in California DUI case. Now the more important question is when does one obtain this fancy insurance? Are you suppose to notify your insurance carrier right after you are arrested? The answer is no. You do not technically need to obtain this type of insurance or notify your insurance until after you have been officially deemed to have lost your driver’s license pursuant to the DMV or Superior Court’s findings. How this plays...