Losing your license because you were busted drinking and driving can be very hard!

One of the most common side effects of being convicted of a DUI in Michigan (besides jail time, probation, alcohol classes, alcohol testing, and fines) is losing your license. It can be extremely frustrating, because it means that for months, if not a full year, you can’t drive. And no, that doesn’t mean you can’t drive your own car – it means you can’t drive ANY car. At ANY time. For ANY reason. Unless of course the court grants you a restricted driver’s license.

What is a restricted license in Michigan?

A restricted license, which is also sometimes called an occupational license, is a license that the court allows certain convicted drunk drivers to have, if they can prove that they need to have their license in order to maintain their livelihood. It’s not the same as your regular driver’s license, and has a number of restrictions that you have to follow in order to use it. This can include where you’re allowed to drive to, and when you can be out driving. In some cases, judges are given the option to allow a restricted driver’s license. In other cases, the court can’t grant a restricted license even if the judge want to. That’s because the Michigan Secretary of State is involved in the operator licensing process.

What kind of restrictions are you looking at?

There are several kinds of restrictions that are likely to end up on your restricted driver license after a DUI conviction here in Michigan. This is because the average restricted license is aimed at allowing you to travel to and from the important places, while eliminating opportunities for unnecessary or optional driving.

With a Michigan restricted license,  a person may travel between any combination of the following places:

• Your home,
• Your job,
• Your school,
• Your probation officer
• The place where you do your community service
• The place where you participate in your court ordered drug or alcohol treatment program
• A hospital, medical center, or clinic that the court has given you permission to visit to receive treatment for a severe medical condition, either for you or someone in your family.

Driver’s license restrictions aren’t “individualized”

This means that, unlike the sanctions the court places on you when you’re convicted of a crime like drunk driving, the restrictions placed on your driver’s license are generated automatically by the Secretary of State. So it doesn’t matter who you are, or how wealthy or famous you may be, your driver’s license restrictions will be the same as everyone else’s.

Are you worried about losing your license after a DUI arrest?

Being arrested for a DUI is serious business. There are lots of ways this will affect your life now and in the future. Some of them are unavoidable, and some of them can be managed by a skilled drunk driving defense attorney with lots of experience. The Kronzek Firm can be reached today at 866 766 5245 (866 7No Jail). Our highly respected attorneys fight drunk driving cases (DUI, DWI, impaired driving and drugged driving) all over the lower peninsula of Michigan from Lansing, to Grand Rapids, to Oakland County and Clinton County to Eaton County and Jackson, MI.