Limited Driving Privileges Following Revocations for Willful Refusals
Published for NC Criminal Law on October 25, 2012.
Several earlier posts (here, here and here) address the availability of a limited driving privilege for a person whose driver’s license is revoked upon conviction of impaired driving. Such a privilege allows a person to lawfully drive—for limited purposes at limited times—during the period of the revocation. I wrote here about DMV’s authority to revoke a person’s driver’s license for twelve months for willfully refusing a chemical analysis. I mentioned in passing here the availability of a limited driving privilege to authorize some driving during that period of revocation. Because I haven’t yet discussed the particulars of that privilege, I thought I’d do so now.
North Carolina’s implied consent laws, like their sister-provisions in other states, are designed to coerce persons suspected of driving while impaired and other alcohol-related offenses to participate in chemical testing without being physically forced to do so by the police. (See this earlier post on the theory of implied consent). The incentive for defendants to “voluntarily” submit to compulsory testing is provided by their desire to remain licensed; defendants are informed that if they refuse testing, their driver’s licenses will be revoked for a year. See G.S. 20-16.2(a)(1) (requiring that before a chemical analysis is administered a defendant be advised: “Under the implied-consent law, you can refuse any test, but your drivers license will be revoked for one year and could be revoked for a longer period of time under certain circumstances . . . .”). Obviously, the incentive to submit to testing would be greatly reduced if the ensuing refusal-based revocation had little impact on a person’s ability to drive. For that reason, it is not surprising that while G.S. 20-16.2(e1) authorizes judges to issue limited driving privileges to authorize driving for certain essential purposes during a refusal-based revocation period, that authority is closely circumscribed.
The most significant of these restrictions is that a person whose license is revoked for willfully refusing chemical testing becomes eligible for a limited driving privilege only after his or her license has been revoked for at least six months for the refusal and the underlying charge has been resolved. G.S. 20-16.2(e1).To satisfy the latter requirement, the underlying charge must have been disposed of other than by a conviction or the person must have been convicted of impaired driving under G.S. 20-138.1 and punished at Level Three, Four, or Five. If the person was convicted, he or she must have complied with at least one of the mandatory conditions of probation for the level of punishment imposed.
To be eligible for a limited driving privilege, the person also must satisfy the following requirements:
- At the time of the refusal, he or she must have held a valid driver’s license or a license that had been expired for less than a year;
- At the time of the refusal, he or she must not have been convicted within the preceding seven years of an offense involving impaired driving;
- At the time of the instant refusal, he or she must not have willfully refused to submit to a chemical analysis under G.S. 20-16.2 in the preceding seven years;
- Subsequent to the refusal,he or she must not have any unresolved pending charges for or additional convictions of an offense involving impaired driving;
- He or she must have obtained a substance abuse assessment from a mental health facility and have successfully completed any recommended training or treatment program; and
- He or she must furnish proof of financial responsibility or establish that he or he is exempt from this requirement. A person who does not own a currently registered motor vehicle and who does not operate uninsured non-fleet private passenger vehicles owned by others—and who signs a certificate to this effect—is not required to furnish proof of financial responsibility.
Public Officials - Courts and Judicial Administration Roles
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