Driving after a DUI and the Ignition Interlock Device

Interviewer: Let’s discuss the ignition interlock device. When is the driver required to install the device and for how long must they maintain it?

The Device Must Be Installed in Your Vehicle for 6 Months to 2 Years

Brian Sloan: Everyone convicted of a DUI—whether it’s a regular DUI, extreme DUI, super extreme DUI, aggravated DUI—all drivers must have an ignition interlock device installed on their vehicle for a certain period of time. The device must be maintained for anywhere from six months to upwards of two years.

In Some Cases, the Only Way to Avoid the Installation of the Device to Plead Guilty, Which Results in a One Year Suspension

There is one exception and that is if you were to be convicted of DUI, drugs or medications, specifically, pursuing to Arizona Revised Statute 28-1381A3. If that person were to be convicted solely without offense, which is that you were in physical control of the car with any drug metabolized in your system, there is a may be a way of avoiding the installation of the device.

If a person is pleading guilty to just that charge then they’re going to end up losing their license for one year. So, it’s a trade-off. Yes, you may not have to do the ignition interlock device, but you are going to lose your license for one year. And there’s no restricted license available. You cannot drive to and from work and school for one year.

Refusals Face the One Year Suspension—If the Ignition Interlock Device Is Installed and the Driver Carries Sr22 Insurance, They May Have a Restricted License for the Last 9 Months of the Suspension

Actually, it’s a license revocation. The only other time when you technically need to have an ignition interlock device is if at the time that you were arrested, you refused the requested blood, breath or urine test by the officer. Then you end up losing your license for one year. It is suspended for one year for refusing.

You may be eligible to get a restricted ignition air-lock device license for the last nine months of that one year along with Sr22 high risk insurance. That’s the only situation where a person does not necessarily have to be convicted of a DUI in order to have that ignition interlock device.

There Are Some Situations Where the Driver Can Reduce the Time They Must Maintain the Ignition Interlock Device

But in nearly all of the situations, anyone convicted of a DUI will have to install the ignition interlock device. The current standing of the law is that if a person is convicted of a regular DUI, which is when they were in natural physical control of the car and their blood alcohol level is between a .08 and a .149. Although, technically, it could be below a point 08;because that indicates they were impaired to a slightest degree.

They are required to have an ignition interlock device on any vehicle they operated for one year. However, the law allows them to uninstall the device after six months if they do that first six months correctly. Now, abiding by the rules for six months correctly means that they blow into the ignition interlock device every time, including when they are at their destination.

You Will Have to Maintain the Device for the Full Time Imposed If There Was an Accident at the Time the DUI Was Issued

The only other exception to that is that if you were in an accident when you were arrested and unfortunately, that could mean that you were the cause of the accident or that you were truly a victim of a car accident. If the police officer filled out a citation a certain way and notified the Motor Vehicle Division that you were somehow involved in an accident, you are not eligible to get that six months off of your ignition air-lock device.

By Brian Douglas Sloan

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Why Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan?

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“I am one of only a handful of Phoenix DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.”

I have spent my entire career focused on DUI Defense representation, having personally defended more than 4,100+ DUI clients in the past 18+ years.

If you’re looking for a divorce attorney, tax attorney, or civil attorney, then I can comfortably say: "I’m not the one for you".

Coming up with traditional, as well as outside-the-box motions and defenses for my clients, often with good results, is the hallmark of my practice.

Lawyers that say they are "aggressive", or "will fight for you", are a dime a dozen. They use these phrases because that is what they think people want to hear. The truth of the matter is, being "aggressive" rarely gets the client anywhere in these court systems. Being "aggressive" isn’t the same as being good, and is often used to put on a show for a client to hide the fact that they aren’t doing anything meaningful for the client.

The same is true for the lawyers that claim to do DUI Defense... and Criminal Cases..., and Accident cases..., and Divorces. A Jack-of-all-Trades is a master of none. By handling all different sorts of cases, they take away from their ability to truly focus on DUIs, and keep up to date on the latest changes in DUI Defense Representation.

What I offer is intelligent, quality DUI Defense, at an exceptional price.

I am one of only a handful of Arizona DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.

I have not only taught other lawyers how to do DUI Defense Representation at statewide seminars, but I produce DUI Legal Guides used by defense lawyers across Arizona.

I am one of the most award-winning DUI Defense Lawyers in Arizona; have been recognized nationally, including in a 2022 issue of USA Today; and there are only a few lawyers in Arizona who have personally defended more DUI cases than I have. I am also one of the most reasonably-priced DUI Lawyers, as I pride myself on charging a Flat Rate only for the legal services you need, and not for the legal services you don’t.

I am also the lawyer who people call once they realize that their original lawyer screwed something up, gave them false hope or false promises, or simply just took their money and didn’t do much on the case. You would be surprised at how often this happens.

Save yourself the trouble of hiring the wrong lawyer, and hire the right DUI Defense Lawyer from the start.

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