How Your First DUI Arrest Affects Your License

How Your First DUI Arrest Affects Your LicenseIf convicted of a DUI in Denver CO there are several penalties that the state legislature has imposed. However, one of the major concerns that most people have is how their driver’s license will be affected. Will my license be revoked or suspended and if so, for how long?  It is completely understandable that people are concerned about how their license will be affected by the charge of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs or Both (DUI) or Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI). Can you imagine how inconvenient it is not to have your license?

Navigating a DUI within Colorado’s legal system can be quite tricky. There are two places where a person could lose his or her driving privileges in Colorado. One is at the Department of Revenue, Division of Motor vehicles (commonly referred to as DMV). If you submitted to a chemical test of your blood or breath and the alcohol level is .08 or higher, you are subject to a license revocation.  A “license revocation” is the same as losing driving privileges. This is referred to as “Express Consent” revocation as the revocation is based upon having a certain level of alcohol in your system. The other place a person could lose his or her driving privileges is from a conviction for DUI in criminal court as that carries with it twelve (12) points against their driving record.  Usually you only lose your driving privileges “once” at DMV and then if you lose your privilege due to your conviction to DUI in criminal court; the revocation runs concurrently with the DMV suspension.

What Colorado has adopted over the past few years is the use of an Interlock in the driver’s car. This has taken the place of the long revocations forcing people to not be able to drive.  So, now, if you are “revoked” for twelve months or nine months, you can usually get “early reinstatement” of your driving privileges by having an Interlock installed in your person vehicle.

There are some who will simply accept their charge because of the lack of knowledge about how the law works. Make sure you have an experienced DUI Attorney in Denver CO to assist you.