Driver’s license suspensions for DUIs in Illinois

Being able to drive in Illinois is a privilege. When driving, people must obey the many traffic laws in the state. These laws include laws regarding speed limits, signaling turns, yielding to other cars, not texting or using the Internet while driving, obeying traffic lights, stop signs and other traffic control signs and many other laws. One of these other laws is that people cannot drive their vehicles while they are intoxicated. If people are caught driving under the influence, they could be charged with a DUI.

Being charged with a DUI is a serious charge and if people are convicted, they could be facing serious consequences. These consequences can include fines, jail time and other penalties in addition to losing their driver’s license for a period of time. How long a person will lose it depends on the number of DUIs the person has on their record.

For a first-time offense, people will have their license revoked for a minimum of a year. For a second conviction for DUI, if it occurred within 20 years of the first conviction, a person will have their license revoked for at least five years. For a third conviction people will lose their driver’s license for 10 years. If a person has four or more DUIs, they will lose their license for the rest of their life. People will also have their vehicle registration suspended as well for any DUI conviction.

Many people in Illinois drive their vehicles every day and rely on them to get to the various places they need to go. So, having a revoked driver’s license can have a major effect on their lives. The license suspensions mentioned above are only realized if the person is convicted, though. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and a DUI defense may be waged to avoid these consequences. Experienced attorneys understand these defenses and may be a useful resource.