Driving on Suspension

The penalties for Driving on Suspension vary depending on the reason why your license was suspended in the first place. For example, if your license is suspended because you have an unpaid speeding ticket or too many points against your license for traffic tickets, the offense is a Class C Misdemeanor and will normally only result in a fine. However, if your license is suspended for a DUI or drug-related offense, the charge is upgraded to a Class B Misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1940 and carries a minimum mandatory fine of $750 and is much more likely to result in a jail sentence. In fact, many judges will impose jail time to Driving on Suspension when the suspension is for a DUI because they see the Driving in Suspension Charge as an extension of the DUI.

The driver license penalties for Driving on Suspension also vary depending on the reason why your license was suspended in the first place. For example, if your license is suspended because you have an unpaid speeding ticket or too many points against your license for traffic tickets, the offense will normally not result in any additional suspension as long as you resolve the issue that triggered the suspension in the first place. However, if your license is suspended for a DUI or drug-related offense, your driver license suspension will be extended. The first time you are caught driving on suspension, the initial suspension will be doubled. For example, if you are serving a 120-day DUI suspension, then an additional 120 days will be added on to the end of the suspension period, thus doubling the time.

For a second or subsequent arrest for driving on suspension, your license suspension will be extended for an additional year, which will be added to the end of your current suspension period (U.C.A 53-3-220(2)). In some cases, we have seen drivers who have their licenses suspended for many years beyond their original suspension period with no option for a work permit except under very limited circumstances from which very few drivers qualify. For each additional suspension period, you will also be assessed additional administrative and reinstatement fees that can total into the hundreds of dollars.

Occasionally the Driver License Division computer system does not apply the suspension periods correctly, resulting in a driver being classified as suspended when in fact they are not. The first thing we do is verify whether the DLD has correctly classified you as having a suspended license.

We can also fight some of these violations by arguing that the initial traffic stop that resulted in your arrest was not lawful in the first place, and therefore the evidence the officer gathered when he stopped you cannot be used against you in court, resulting in a dismissal of the charge.

Finally, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, as well as your driver and criminal history, we may be able to avoid a conviction and the driver license consequences of the violation by negotiating a plea in abeyance agreement with the prosecutor that would result in a dismissal of the charge following successful completion of probation and preventing a conviction from being entered and reported to the DLD.