Can you drive after a DUI conviction? Yes, with restrictions.
Being charged with driving under the influence can have drastic effects on your life, including the loss of your driver’s license. For a good chunk of time, you’ll have to find alternative ways to get to work, go to school, drop off the kids and get groceries from the store. All the small things you took for granted are stripped away, making life more difficult than it should be.
With that being said, the suspension or revocation of your driver’s license doesn’t start on the day you get arrested. In certain cases, you don’t even have to wait the entire length of the suspension to start driving again.
When it is allowed
In Tennessee, you can drive your car while your DUI case is pending. There is no administrative suspension of your driver’s license, so you can drive until a judge has issued an order suspending your license.
If you are convicted of driving under the influence, your license will be suspended or revoked for a minimum of one year for your first offense. Once your suspension or revocation is over, you can apply for a reinstatement of your license with the Department of Safety, but you’ll likely have to comply with these arrangements:
- Successfully complete drug and alcohol treatment and the education program
- Pay all Department of Safety Fees
- Provide proof of car insurance with an SR-22
- Install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle you drive
Note: If you are convicted of driving under the influence and hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL), you will be barred from driving a commercial vehicle for a year.
Contact our DUI Defense team for more information about the penalties and fines associated with DUI charges in Davidson County and surrounding Tennessee areas.
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