Millions of people across the United States are currently living with suspended driver’s licenses. Having a suspended license can bring about countless logistical problems. After all, if your license is suspended, you’re not supposed to drive. You can’t drive yourself to work, take the kids to school, run errands, or complete any other types of trips that would require you to get behind the wheel. Though some people are granted special allowances to drive to work or school despite having a suspended license, those privileges are usually limited, and they’re not given to everyone.
What Happens If You Drive with a Suspended License?
Some people choose to take their chances and drive even though their licenses are suspended. For most, it’s a matter of necessity. Not everyone has someone available to give them a ride every time they need to go somewhere, and public transportation isn’t an option in all areas. While ridesharing has become a helpful option, most people can’t afford to constantly take advantage of it.
Driving while license suspended first conviction usually results in fines of anywhere from $50 to $5,000 or more depending on where you live and the circumstances at hand. After that, you could face jail time. Sentences for driving on a suspended license after the first offense can range up to six months in jail. Longer sentences may apply if you’ve been caught driving with a suspended license multiple times or you were committing a serious traffic violation or crime when you were caught. Additionally, your vehicle could be impounded.
Those are general consequences of driving with a suspended license. For people whose licenses have been suspended due to DUI, DWI, and other serious charges, the penalties are usually much harsher. Commercial drivers who are caught driving with suspended licenses are subject to stiffer penalties as well.
Why Are Driver’s Licenses Suspended?
Many people believe that license suspensions only happen because of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or committing a serious crime that involves a vehicle in some way. While those are common reasons for license suspensions, they’re not the only ones by far. People can have their licenses suspended for numerous reasons.
Reasons for having a suspended license might include identity fraud, not paying child support, failing to pay state taxes, and writing bad checks. Having unpaid fines, court fees, and other expenses could lead to a license suspension as well according to a recent write-up. In quite a few instances, people don’t even realize their licenses are suspended. Though the DMV is supposed to send notifications to drivers when their licenses are suspended, those notifications have been known to miss their marks.
Avoiding the Consequences of Driving with a Suspended License
If you know your license is suspended, it’s best to turn to friends, relatives, rideshares, and public transportation as much as possible until the suspension is lifted. Walk to work if necessary. Once the suspension period ends, pay the necessary fines and have your licenses reinstated. It’s not going to be an easy or convenient road, but that’s the best way to avoid fines, jail time, and an extended license suspension or revocation.
As mentioned, not everyone who has a suspended license is aware of the situation. You may have inadvertently allowed your car insurance to temporarily lapse, which is cause for suspension in some areas. Perhaps a former spouse wrote a bad check in your name without your knowledge and didn’t take care of it after the fact. As a result, your license was suspended, and you never received a notification from the DMV. To avoid potential consequences in situations like these, you can check with the local DMV online at any time to make sure your license hasn’t been suspended.