Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorney Blog: I’m HTV How Can I Drive Again?
So you have gotten a few bad convictions on your record or several tickets a one really bad driving conviction and the BMV has just notified you that you are now a habitual traffic violator and you have a VERY long license suspension. Now what? Public transportation is not exactly reliable in Indiana. So what are the options?
A Review of Your Driving Record is in Order
When we receive a call with the situation above many times we will want to have the person come to our office for a free consultation. A thorough evaluation of your driving record is in order. At this meeting we will review your record and determine what exactly is making you a Habitual Traffic Violator. Once we have made the determination we will then evaluate what the best option is to try to get you back on the road. In most circumstances, there are primarily two options.
Option One: Fix Something On Your License Record And Get Your License Back
In some circumstances we may review your record and determine that a simple speeding ticket or two are the only things that pushed you over the edge making you a habitual traffic violator. If that is the case we will evaluate each of those tickets and see if there is a way that we might be able to undo the ticket. Depending on the jurisdiction, we can sometimes vacate the judgment or judgments against you making you no longer qualifying as HTV. If we are successful in vacating those judgments, we will then have to contact the BMV so that they reevaluate your driving record and lift your HTV suspension. If you have reinstatement fees, those will have to be resolved by either being paid or waived. After that, you will be able to get your license and drive again.
Option Two: File For Specialized Driving Privileges
After we evaluate your driving record, sometimes we will determine there is not any good way to vacate judgements to get you out of the HTV status. However, that does not mean all is lost. Under these circumstances we will evaluate the county you live in, the nature of your current suspensions, and your current employment status. After we look at all of these factors we will advise you if we think you are a good candidate for specialized driving privileges. For a detailed review of specialized driving privileges click here to read our blog. Basically, if you are a good candidate for specialized driving privileges we will have you fill out a detailed questionnaire and file the request on your behalf. Occasionally, we can get the prosecutor to agree to the specialized driving privileges and the process is fairly straight forward. More often than not this petition will be set for hearing and the court will determine if you are granted specialized driving privileges. If you are granted this special driving privilege then you will likely be able to drive for work, doctor’s appointments, grocery store, perhaps church and in some instances other locations depending on your situation. The specialized driving privileges can be a real life saver for the person that needs to be able to drive for work.
In closing, if you have been determined to be a habitual traffic violator, all hope is not lost. There are options and it is worth your while to have your particular situation evaluated to see what might work for you to get back on the road again. Contact the Attorneys at Banks & Brower today at 317-870-0019 to setup your free consultation so we can see what might work for your situation.