Driver's License Suspension (Part 1)

There is an increasing number of  people driving around with a suspended driver's license today.  This increase is caused by several reasons.  First, there are many criminal offenses that may result in driver's license suspension, such as DWIs and Possession of marijuana.  Second, many cities are writing a huge amount of traffic citations to balance the city's budget.  Third, the state of Texas has started assessing surcharges that must be paid in addition to fines and court costs for criminal offenses and traffic citations.

Over the next few days I will give you information regarding some of the reasons that a person's driver's license may be suspended, the penalty for driving while license suspended and what a person can do if their license is suspended.

Some of the reasons a persons driver's license may be suspended are:

• driving a motor vehicle on a highway while the person's license was suspended, canceled, disqualified, or revoked, or without a license after an application for a license was denied;

• a person is a habitually reckless or negligent operator of a motor vehicle;

• a person is a habitual violator of traffic laws;

• a person has permitted the unlawful or fraudulent use  of the person's license;

• a person has committed an offense in another state or Canadian province that, if committed in this state, would be grounds for suspension;

• a person has been convicted of two or more separate offenses of a violation of a restriction imposed on the use of the license;

• a person has been responsible as a driver for any accident resulting in serious personal injury or serious property damage; or 

• a person is the holder of a provisional license and has been convicted of two or more moving violations within a 12-month period.                                          

If you would like to know if your driver's license is suspended and you have a Texas driver's license check out your driving record here: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/dlfork.aspx?action=record.