There are literally a hundred or so ways a persons driving privilege can be suspended. A person can indefinitely lose their privilege to drive by simply allowing his/her auto insurance to lapse or forget to pay a traffic citation. On the other hand, and license can be revoked or suspended for a specific period of time for being convicted of a crime such as DUI or Drug Possession. Driving while your driving privilege is suspended, cancelled, or revoked is a crime in the state of Florida.
A single Driving While License Suspended/Revoked (DWLS) may not necessarily something to be worried about, but the circumstances surrounding the suspension might create aggravated circumstances that would expose an individual to imprisonment. Further is the issue regarding Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO) status. If an individual is convicted of three “major traffic offenses” within five years, they are declared a HTO, and their driving privilege is suspended for five years. These “major traffic offenses include DUI, DWLS, and Leaving the Scene of a Traffic Crash.
There are three types of DWLS charges in Florida:
B. DWLS With Knowledge – Misdemeanor – These charges are criminal in nature, and depending on the circumstances, can result in a jail sentence. A great deal of DWLS cases are resolved in court without a jail sentence, but courts do have the authority to sentence a person to jail upon conviction. Multiple prior DWLS convictions, a DUI suspension/revocation, or driving on a court ordered revocation often expose an individual to a greater potential of a jail sentence.
C. Felony DWLS Charges – Although they are not common, driving while your license suspended under certain circumstances can be charged as a Felony.
2. DWLS – Habitual Traffic Offender – If an individual is caught driving while their license is suspended for five (5) years as a Habitual Traffic Offender (H.T.O.), they can be charged with a third degree Felony DWLS if they have had previously been charged and convicted (even if Adjudication is Withheld) of a previous felony. Just as in the previous type of Felony DWLS, the individual faces a potential of up to five (5) years in prison.
Regardless of what circumstances are involved, it is usually advisable for you to make whatever effort you can to reinstate your driving privilege. This will not only assist you in getting a favorable disposition to your case, but will also insure that you do not expose yourself to any new potential charges in the future. Often individuals get lost while moving through the system on their way to reinstating their driving privilege. When it comes to these cases, our office makes it a point to guide our clients along a path that would result in the restoration of their driving privileges. The difficulty in traversing this route will depend on what type, and how many, suspensions there are. For many of our clients, this path is easy, but there are quite a few others clients who will have a more challenging and longer course to navigate.
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Rick Silverman is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. He has been representing clients in the areas of Criminal and Traffic Law since he was sworn in as a member of the Florida Bar in 1988. After seven years practicing in Miami, Rick relocated to the Tampa Bay area in 1995, and has been a part of this community ever since. As a two time chairman of the Florida Bar’s Traffic Court Rules Committee, Rick has been involved in the process of creating, defining, and amending rules used in traffic courts throughout this state. In addition to his service in drafting the rules of traffic court, he has also had the privilege of serving as a lecturer at continuing legal education seminars dealing with traffic matters. Over his career, Rick has represented clients in countless traffic cases.