Driving with an APS Restricted or Suspended License
What counts as a violation of Vehicle Code § 14601.5?
Vehicle Code § 14601.5 makes it a crime to drive a motor vehicle at any time when that person’s driving privilege is suspended or revoked pursuant to Vehicle Code § 13353, Vehicle Code § 13353.1, or Vehicle Code § 13353.2 and that person has knowledge of the suspension or revocation.
Who does Vehicle Code § 14601.5 apply to?
Under Vehicle Code § 13353, a person’s driver’s license is suspended or revoked if that person was suspected of DUI and refused an officer’s request to submit to, or fails to complete, a chemical test.
Under Vehicle Code § 13353.1, a person’s driver’s license is suspended or revoked if that person was suspected of DUI while under the age of 21 or on DUI probation, and refused an officer’s request to submit to, or fails to complete, a preliminary alcohol screening test.
Under Vehicle Code § 13353.2, a person’s driver’s license is suspended for any of the following reasons:
- The person was driving a motor vehicle when the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.
- The person was under 21 years of age and had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test, or other chemical test.
- The person was driving a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license when the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.
- The person was driving a motor vehicle when both of the following applied:
- The person was on probation for a violation of Section 23152 or 23153.
- The person had 0.01 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test.
What is the punishment for a violation of Vehicle Code § 14601.5?
A first time violation of Vehicle Code § 14601.5 is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for not more than six months or by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
If the offense occurred within five years of a prior offense that resulted in a conviction for a violation of this section or Section 14601, 14601.1, 14601.2, or 14601.3, by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 10 days or more than one year, and by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000).
What defenses are available to Vehicle Code § 14601.5?
- You did not have knowledge of the suspension of your driver’s license
- You did not have a suspended or revoked driver’s license at the time
- You were not driving
