DMV hearings are a usually the byproduct of what happens after someone has been arrested for a DUI (“Driving Under the Influence”) charge. Since our driver’s licenses are a privilege and not a right, we risk losing our privileges once we have preliminary been found to have violated a traffic laws that question our decisions to drive in an impaired state (even if it was only once). Especially in Orange County where DUI’s are considered very dangerous and serious to the community, the loss of or driving privileges are considered a very big disadvantage to our well-being and livelihood. Therefore, where those privileges are taken away or granted is through the DMV hearing to establish whether or not we retain the right to be licensed drivers on the roadway.
The DMV’s Rules For Suspending Your License
The department establishes three different questions and makes its decision based on how any of those three are answered:
- Was the driver pulled over with probable cause?
- Was the driver impaired while operating a motor vehicle?
- Did the driver have a blood alcohol content that was .08% or greater at the time they were operating their vehicle?
If any one of the above questions are determined by the department driver’s safety office administrator, the licensee’s privilege to drive will be affected either through a suspension or a revocation. Most cases after a first DUI in Orange County, the driver’s privileges will be suspended temporarily for a period of 4-6 months. However, the driver will have the ability to apply for a restricted license (also known as a “provisional” license) to drive to and from work and a few other activities until their license has been fully reinstated.
