Beginning October 1, 2013, requirements regarding the Ignition Interlock Device (IID) will change in many ways, which is good news for drivers currently facing lengthy suspensions/revocations of their driving privileges.  Some of the changes, found in Senate Bill 480, include:

1. Drivers facing 5- and 10- year denials must now equip their vehicles with a special IID that features GPS and photo identification technologies in order to apply for Limited Driving Privileges (LDP) and/or apply for reinstatement when their denial concludes;

2. The current 30-day “hard suspension” for 1st-time DUI offenders can be reduced to a 15-day “hard suspension”, provided that the driver install an IID. If that choice is made, the driver electing to install the IID in order to reduce the “hard suspension” would drive on a LDP/hardship license for 75 days until his/her license would qualify for reinstatement.

3. Drivers with 2 DUIs within a 5-year span used to be ineligible for LDP, and faced a 1-year license revocation.  While the new law does not affect the 1-year revocation for these drivers, it does allow these drivers to apply for a hardship license after completing 45 days of their license suspension.

4. Drivers with 5-year or 10-year denials may now apply for LDP’s after serving just 45 days of their suspension, rather than waiting years.

5. Drivers with 10-year denials who were previously ineligible for any type of hardship license, either because of a felony conviction or any other previous impediment, may be eligible to obtain LDP by applying to a circuit court after serving the first 2 or 3 years of their revocation, depending on the length of denial. There are many hoops that these drivers must jump through in order to obtain LDP (along with the SR-22 and special IID requirements, these drivers must also obtain fingerprint samples and pay several different fees, as well as having to serve a petition on the Department of Revenue), but at the very least, there is some hope that a driver facing a lengthy denial may be able to drive again much more quickly than before.  [Also note that these drivers must convince the court that their “habits and conduct show that the person no longer poses a threat to the public safety of the state.”]

If you are facing a license suspension or revocation, regardless of the length of time you’re forced off the roads, there really is no better time to contact our office and set you up with a hardship license.  Give us a call today to discuss!