Florida drivers face severe penalties when their license has been suspended. According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, as of June 2007, nearly 4.6 million Floridians have suspended licenses and according to our expert, many may end up behind bars.

An expert opinion

David Haenel, an attorney based on Florida’s west coast whose practice focuses on suspended license issues, is clearly an expert in this field. As a member of the Florida traffic court rules committee, Haenel knows too well what can happen when someone’s license is suspended. He explained:

In a criminal driving while license suspension situation, depending on if they have prior offenses, they could face anywhere from up to 60 days in the county jail on a first time offense to up to 11 months and 29 days on a second offense, or more. If they accumulate a certain number of driving while license suspensions, now we’re facing a felony habitual traffic offender charge. That’s a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison.

According to Haenel, there’s not a person that comes to his office who has spent some time in jail who does not run into somebody who was in jail as a result of a driving while license suspended. He says that the state prison is full of people who are in there for some sort of a driving charge.

Many unsuspecting drivers are shocked

We asked Haenel whether some of these unsuspecting drivers are shocked that they end up in jail over a traffic violation. Here’s what he said, “Yes, depending on if they’re ‘frequent flyers’, so to speak. Some people know the system and are trying to do their best to get out of it. Other individuals who’ve never been in the situation can’t believe that it went this far. However, no one’s ever told them how the system works, they may have moved, they may have not gotten proper notification, etc. There are a million reasons that go into all these different facts.”

How to get a hardship license

Florida drivers who’ve had their license suspended may be eligible for a hardship license under certain circumstances. Haenel explained the process:

It depends on the nature of the suspension. For example, in a point’s suspension example, the person would have to complete an advanced driver improvement school class, which is12 hours long, and then they would have to get themselves to the DHSMV. It’s not in every county though; the offices are scattered throughout the state, so getting to an office could be problematic when you can’t drive.

They would actually have to go there, get a ride there, and explain to the hearing officer (an employee of the DHSMV who’s not a lawyer) why it is that they need a hardship license. Then the hearing officer would make a decision based on the nature of the suspension and a showing of the certificate of completion of the long term 12 hour traffic school class. The hearing officer has the ultimate discretion whether to grant or not grant the hardship license.

If your license has been suspended in Florida, contact an attorney whose practice focuses on license suspension issues. Click here, to contact a Florida criminal attorney.