What Happens if I’m Found Guilty of Multiple DUIs?

If a judge in central Ohio finds you guilty of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol more than once, you will spend time in jail, pay high criminal fines, lose your personal and commercial driver’s licenses for a year or longer, receive six points on your driving record, and face several other penalties. The Franklin County DUI offense attorneys with The Maher Law Firm provide more details about second, third and fourth operating a vehicle with intoxicated (OVI) penalties here.

Two of the penalties for multiple DUI that many Ohio residents find the most difficult to live with are the CDL suspension and court-ordered use of ignition interlock devices in their own vehicles. OVI-related license suspensions work in two ways in Franklin County. Drivers under suspension after getting convicted for drunk or drugged driving can receive limited driving privileges to get to and from work, attend school, and keep doctors’ appointments and court dates. Those privileges apply only to the use of private vehicles that they or family members own.

A CDL suspension in Ohio is absolute. Operating a truck, bus or piece of construction equipment while having a suspended commercial driver’s license will result in another arrest and additional penalties. One of those new penalties will be a lengthier CDL suspension and additional points on your driving record.

So, it is fair to consider a DUI conviction as a fireable offense when you make your living driving commercial vehicles. Few, if any, companies or agencies will keep a driver on payroll when the driver who cannot legally drive any of the organization’s vehicles.

Using an ignition interlock device in your own car, pickup truck or SUV will present its own hardships. First, the person under penalty for OVI must pay to have the apparatus installed. New fees are charged at least every month when, by court order, the device must be serviced and calibrated. A damaged device must also be replaced at your expense.

Even driving with an ignition interlock device presents risks. Blowing into the sensor is required to start the vehicle, and keeping the engine running requires blowing into the sensor at 15-minute or half-hour intervals. Ignore the testing alarm, and the vehicle shuts down. Use the device in heavy traffic, and put yourself in danger of becoming distracted and causing a crash.

The message, which any DUI/OVI defense attorney will give you, is that you need to fight a drunk or drugged driving charge. Working to avoid penalties for driving under the influence always makes sense. This becomes even more true if you already have a DUI from another state or an OVI from Ohio on your record.

If you have been arrested and charged again with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Franklin County DUI offense attorney may be able to help you. We offer free consultations to criminal and traffic defendants throughout central Ohio, and we take many drunk and drugged driving cases for a flat fee. Call us at (614) 205-2208 or contact us online.