Convicted drivers will be eligible to receive limited-use permits sooner, pending the completion of state requirements.
As a result of Senate Bill 236, signed by Gov. Nathan Deal in April 2012, any person whose license is suspended as a result of a second DUI conviction within five years may apply for a limited driving permit after serving 120 days of driving suspension and providing a certificate of eligibility or proof of enrollment in clinical treatment.
A 120-day suspension of driving privileges is mandatory.
Limited permits are granted in cases of extreme hardship, meaning the person would not reasonably be able to obtain other transportation.
Limited permits can be used for:
n Going to work;
n Receiving scheduled medical care or obtaining prescription medications;
n Attending school;
n Attending alcohol or drug abuse support meetings;
n Attending court-ordered courses;
n Attending court, reporting to a probation office or officer or performing community service; or
n Transporting an immediate family member without a driver's license to work, school or to seek medical care or prescription medication.
The provision allowing drivers to drive to court, probation and community service is newly added to the law, as is the provision allowing drivers to transport immediate family members.
Drivers issued limited permits with interlock ignition devices will be permitted to attend work, school, meetings of treatment organizations and monthly monitoring visits with the interlock device service provider.
The bill calls for interlock devices issued in conjunction with these limited permits to be maintained for at least eight months, longer than the previously required six months.
Habitual violators can be issued a probationary license no less than two years from the date of the person's conviction that resulted in habitual violator status.
To receive a probationary license, a person must have completed an alcohol/drug use risk reduction program and clinical evaluation and have enrolled in an approved substance-abuse treatment program or a drug court.
In a separate section, the bill calls for a voluntary parental participation component of students' drug and alcohol education programs to include a joint session with a parent and child and a separate component solely for parents.
Any parent who participates in an alcohol and drug awareness program will be entitled to a one-time, three-year online motor vehicle report.
The bill allows the commissioner of the state's driver services to make the alcohol and drug education program used in schools available online.
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For clarity's sake, the lBAC limit should be 0.0. If you drink, you don't drive, simple. There would be no "I'm safe because I only had two drinks with dinner" delusion.
You might be safe to drive, but you're never safe from the likes of the police and M.A.D.D. with their hands out for no more reason than that you are a drinker who was, supposedly, within the 0.08 law.
MADD has achieved its purpose. It currently exists only because they now have a continuing stream of taxpayer dollars going into their organization that no one at MADD is willing to let go of. MADD = Boondoggle = a Good place to start FED budget cuts.