Driving Offenses

The potential consequences of a driving crime conviction could be very severe. In most cases, not only could your driver’s license be suspended, but you could face probation, lengthy jail terms, and heavy fines. A driving crime conviction could also lead to mandatory attendance of driving classes and create a permanent criminal record. In addition, a criminal record could negatively affect your possibility to acquire gainful employment. Therefore, if you are accused of any driving crime in California, you need to contact a competent criminal defense attorney to walk with you. At Foos Gavin Law Firm, we have experienced attorneys who could help you create a solid defense to fight your charges in Sacramento, CA.

Driving Crimes In California

The California law outlines numerous driving offenses. They include DUIs and various misdemeanor crimes whose penalties involve jail time, the creation of a criminal record, and fines. Felonies driving crimes have severe penalties that include jail terms in state prison. Minor traffic violations are also common. They include mere infractions that could increase your car insurance rates. The standard driving offenses under California law include:

Driving Without A License — VC 12500

Individuals driving on highways should have a California driver's license according to Vehicle Code 12500 of California law. However, certain people are exempted from this statute, including:

Government officials operating government-controlled vehicles
Non-residents of California who hold a diplomatic license for a car similar to that they are driving
Individuals driving farming tractors
Visitors over 18 years who possess their home state driving license
Non-residents over twenty years transporting hazardous material from another state or Canada

If the prosecutor accuses you of driving without a license, he/she must prove that:

You did not possess or produce a valid driver’s license or
You were required to obtain a California driver's license legally

For a license to be valid, it does not necessarily need to be issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV). You cannot face charges for driving without a license if you have a license issued by another state for the specific vehicle you are driving.

The prosecutor is required to prove all the elements without a reasonable doubt during the hearing of the case. The prosecution does not have a duty to prove that you drove without a license in Vehicle Code 12500. However, you should show that you have a license to confirm that the allegations are false.

In California, some of the mistakes that people make that result in charges of driving without a license include:

Establishing California residency and not obtaining the license within the stipulated time
Failure to obtain a driver's license
Failing to renew your expired driver’s license on time

You will be punished if the prosecutor finds you guilty of driving without a valid driver’s license. Some of the penalties you could face include:

A jail term that does not exceed six months in a county jail
A fine that does not exceed $1,000
A three-year probation
Impoundment of your vehicle for 30 days if you had a prior conviction of VC 12500

Your criminal record would be the primary determinant of how your crime will be charged. For example, driving without a license is an infraction for a first-time offender. You will face a misdemeanor charge for subsequent offenses.

You could be charged under VC 12951 if you possess a valid license but fail to produce it when asked to do so by the traffic officers. In addition, you could face a fine of $250 for violating VC 12951 because it is considered a non-criminal offense.

Driving On A Suspended License — VC 14601

Under California VC 14601 of traffic laws, your driver’s license could be suspended because of the following:

Being an incompetent driver
A health condition (both mental or physical) that could affect your driving
A conviction of DUID
Reckless driving

If your driver’s license was revoked or suspended and you continued driving with the knowledge of not having driving privileges, you are considered to have violated VC 14601. If the DMV had mailed a license suspension notice to your latest reported address, you would be aware of the license suspension or revocation.

You must have known that your license was suspended for the prosecutor to charge for VC 14601 violations. If you did not know of the suspension, you could use presumption as a defense to increase your chances of having the case dismissed. However, if you fail to follow the due process to reinstate your license, you could face charges for violating VC 14601 even when the license suspension period is over.

Potential Penalties

It is a misdemeanor crime to operate a vehicle on a suspended license in California. The exact punishment will depend on your driving history, a prior license suspension, and why your license was suspended. You will pay fines of up to $1,000 and a jail term of five days to six months if your license is suspended or revoked for reckless driving.

You will pay $1,000 in fines and a jail term of six months in a county jail for a DUI license suspension. You would also be forced to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in your vehicle if you are convicted of DUI.

Evading An Officer — PC 2800.1

It is an offense under PC 2800.1 to willfully try to evade a pursuing law enforcer. You would face the charges under this statute provided the police vehicle's lights and sirens were on. You would also face the charges if the police were in an official uniform that identifies them as a police officer. The prosecutor must prove the following elements to charge you with evading or fleeing an officer:

You willfully attempted to flee or elude a police officer. However, if it was unsafe to pull over and you continued to drive for a short time before stopping, you did not evade the police willfully.
The police were in uniform. Therefore, you would be guilty of VC 2800.1 if you evade the police wearing an official uniform.
The police were in a marked vehicle — The prosecutor must prove that the police pursued you in a marked police vehicle, including a bicycle, a car, or motorcycle, to protect the public from non-officers with sirens or lights.
You had the specific intent to flee or evade the law enforcer.
The police vehicle had a red light — The prosecutor must prove that the police vehicle was equipped with at least one visible red light and that you saw or ought to have seen.

Potential Penalties

You could face the following punishment if you are found guilty of violating VC 2800.1:

Impoundment of your vehicle for up to 30 days
A jail term that does not exceed one year in a county jail
A fine of up to $1,000

VC 2800.1 is closely related to VC 2800.2 Reckless Evading the police officer and VC 2800.3 Evading police officer causing death or injury. Violating VC 2800.2 applies when you drive with reckless disregard for other people’s safety while evading a police officer.

You could face enhanced penalties under VC 2800.2 and VC 2800.3. Violating VC 2800.2 is a wobbler crime. You could be charged with a misdemeanor or felony. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you could face the following penalties:

A fine of up to $1,000
A jail term of six months or one year in a county jail

If you are charged with a felony, you could face the following penalties:

A fine of up to $10,000
A jail term of 16 months, two, or three years in a state prison

You could face the following if you are charged under VC 2800.3:

A jail term not exceeding one year in a county jail
A fine not less than $2,000 or $10,000
A jail term of three, five, or seven years in a state prison
Both fine and imprisonment

If the attempt or willful flight to elude causes death, you could face a jail term of four, six, or ten years in state prison.

Legal Defenses

You did not intentionally evade the police
There was an emergency
The police vehicle was not marked

Speeding — VC 22350

The California VC 22350 makes it a crime for a person to drive faster than is safe for the given driving circumstances and conditions. The California basic speed law calls on motorists to drive at a safe and reasonable speed. The courts have identified many specific circumstances as crucial in determining whether a speed was safe and reasonable. The circumstances include whether:

There were animals nearby.
The driver’s view of the road was limited or obstructed in any way
The motorist was driving over a hill
The driver was close to or driver over a railroad crossing
The road that the driver was on was in a crowded urban business district, residential area, or a remote rural area
There were bright lights or excessive sunlight at the time the motorist was driving
The current condition of the street was slippery or wet
There were pedestrians or bicyclists near the driver

Potential Penalties

If you violate VC 22350, you could face three possible consequences:

Points to a driving record
Possible negligence charge in any resulting auto accident
Speeding tickets and driver’s license suspension

You will get points on your driving record if you violate VC 22350. You will acquire a designation of a negligent operator and thus a suspension of your driver’s license if you sustain the points as follows:

4 points in 12 months
6 points in 24 months
8 points in 36 months

Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm to yourself or other people under California law. You will pay for any damages caused because of your negligence.

You could receive a speeding ticket and a suspension of your driver's license if you are found guilty of driving over a posted speed limit. The speed at which you drive will determine the exact amount of the ticket. Penalty assessments, fees, and a base fine will also be included in the ticket amount. For example, if you exceed the speed limit or drive unsafely, but you were not driving over 100 miles per hour, the ticket base fine will be as follows:

$35 if faster than the limit or safe speed by 1 to 15 miles per hour
$70 if faster than the limit or safe speed by 16 to 25 miles per hour
$100 if faster than the limit or safe speed by 26 miles per hour or more

You will face the following punishment if you drive faster than 100 miles per hour:

A first crime leads to a ticket with a base fine of $500 and up to 30 days of license suspension
A second crime within three years leads to a possible license suspension of six months and a ticket with a maximum base fine of $750
A third offense within five years leads to a ticket with a maximum base fine of $1,000 and a possible license suspension of one year.

Legal Defenses

You had emergency
Your speed was safe and reasonable
Fault findings by police

Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol — VC 23152

The California VC 23152 makes it an offense to operate a car under the influence of alcohol. VC 23152 defines DUI as driving a vehicle with a substantial amount of alcohol in your body. A significant amount of alcohol in your body impairs your driving ability compared to a sober motorist. Therefore, if you drive a vehicle with blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or more, legally, you are under the influence, also referred to as per se DUI violation.

Motorists of commercial vehicles must not exceed a BAC limit of 0.04%. Motorists below the legal drinking age of 21 and repeat DUI offenders should not exceed a BAC limit of 0.01%. Under the ' No Tolerance’ rule, motorists below 18 should not have any detectable amount of alcohol.

Potential Penalties

The following factors would determine the sentence for a DUI conviction:

Whether or not your DUI caused any injuries or deaths
The number of previous DUIs you have had in the last ten years if any
Whether or not you submitted to the chemical BAC test

If you are a first-time DUI defendant, you could face the following penalties:

A maximum fine of $1,000
A license suspension of up to 10 months
A jail term that does not exceed six months in a county jail

If you are a second-time DUI defendant, you could face the following penalties:

A fine of up to $1,800
A license suspension of three years
A jail term of up to 12 months

Additionally, if you are a repeat offender, you would be required to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in your vehicle. You would also be required to complete a state-approved DUI school that takes several months or even a year.

Legal Defenses

There are strategies you could use to fight your DUI charges. Some of the strategies include:

You had a rising BAC
You did not perform well in the FSTs for other reasons other than intoxication.
Failure of police to follow Title 17 requirements
Mouth alcohol caused the elevated BAC reading
Illegal stop, search, or arrest by the law enforcement officers
The police arrested you without reading your Miranda rights
A medical condition caused falsely high BAC readings

You could have your DUI charges reduced to wet reckless and secure eligibility for a restricted license where an acquittal or dismissal is impossible. You could also get a jail term exchanged for community service.

Driving Under The Influence Of Drugs — VC 23152

The California VC 23152 prohibits driving under the influence of an intoxicating drug. This statute does not only talk about the use of illegal narcotics. Any drug counts as a DUI, be it an over-the-counter drug or that which you have a valid prescription, as long as it affects your ability to drive the vehicle safely.

Under California law, there is no specific BAC level established for DUI drugs compared to DUI alcohol. Therefore, you could face DUI charges if any amount of an intoxicating drug is found in your body. However, you could only face the charges on proof that you exhibited behaviors of a diminished ability to drive the vehicle safely.

You could undergo a blood test for the presence of drugs in your system if the police suspect you are driving while intoxicated with drugs even after you pass the breathalyzer test. Drug testing is applied under California's implied consent law. Submitting to drug testing is essential to enable you to avoid enhanced penalties for a chemical test refusal.

Potential Penalties

If you are a first-time DUID offender, you could face the following punishment:

A fine of up to $1,000
License suspension that does not exceed ten months
Six-month jail term in a county jail

If you are a second-time DUI defendant, you could face the following punishment:

A fine of up to $1,800
License suspension that does not exceed two years
12-month jail term

If you are a third-time DUI defendant, you could face the following penalties:

A fine of up to $1,800
License suspension that does not exceed three years
12-month jail term

Legal Defenses

Lack of sufficient quantities of a drug to cause intoxication
Innocent symptoms mimicking the effects of drugs

Vehicular Manslaughter — PC 192(c)

Vehicular manslaughter is different from other forms of homicide because it happens when driving a vehicle. You could face charges for vehicular homicide if you cause death due to your driving behavior. If another person dies in the process of you committing a felony, you could still face the charges under PC 187 second-degree murder even though the death was accidental. Your charges could be raised to gross vehicular manslaughter if your act of negligence amounted to reckless indifference to the safety of others. You could face the charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated if drugs or alcohol were present in your system.

Potential Penalties

In California, it is a wobbler crime for any person to violate PC 192(c). The prosecutor could charge you with a felony or misdemeanor. If you are accused of a felony, you could face two to six years in prison. You could face a jail term of one year if the prosecutor charges you with a misdemeanor.

You could face a jail term of four to ten years in state prison if the accident were orchestrated for financial gain. In addition, your prison term could be increased by five years if you committed both hit and run and vehicular manslaughter in the same incident.

Legal Defenses

You were in the midst of an emergency.
Though negligent, your actions did not cause the accident
Your actions did not amount to negligence or gross negligence

Hit and Run — VC 20002

The California statute VC 20002 makes it an offense for any motorist to fail to stop the vehicle after causing an accident that leads to property damage. If the prosecutor accuses you of hit and run, he or she must prove the following elements:

You were involved in a vehicle accident while driving
The accident caused damage to someone else’s property

Penalties

Driving off after causing an accident that leads to property damage is a misdemeanor crime. You could face a fine that does not exceed $1000 and a jail term that does not exceed six months in county jail.

Find A Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

In California, violating driving laws could cost your freedom and driving privileges. Therefore, you should seek help from a reputable defense attorney if you are accused of a driving offense. An attorney with the necessary skills to create a solid defense will maximize the chances of a favorable outcome. If you need legal representation in Sacramento, CA, Foos Gavin Law Firm has experienced attorneys that could help you create a solid defense. Contact us 916-779-3500 at and talk to one of our attorneys.