North Carolina uses a graduated license system to license teen drivers via a limited. For the first six months, the permit holder isn't allowed to drive between the hours of 9 p.m. All other restriction violations are infractions.
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Among the questions I am most frequently asked is: What is the proper charge when a person violates an alcohol concentration restriction on his or her driver’s license? As soon as I answer that question, the next one comes in: Is the answer the same if the person violates an ignition interlock restriction? When I say that it is not, additional questions follow. If you too are unsure about the rules for charging and processing a person who is suspected of violating one of these types of license restrictions, I’m hoping the rest of this post will clear things up.Alcohol concentration restrictions. When the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) restores a person’s North Carolina driver’s license after it has been revoked for impaired driving or driving by a person under 21 after consuming, the license is restored subject to certain conditions.
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See (c3). If the person’s driver’s license was revoked for impaired driving and this is the first time the person’s license has been restored, the license is restored subject to the condition that the person not operate a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 at any relevant time after the driving. This restriction is denoted on the person’s physical license card as Restriction 19. If the person’s driver’s license was revoked for driving after consuming by a person under 21, the license is restored subject to the condition that the person not operate a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.00 at any relevant time after the driving. This restriction is denoted on the person’s physical license card as Restriction 21. Restriction 21 also applies to a person whose license is restored for a second or subsequent time following a conviction of impaired driving. The licensee must agree to submit to a chemical analysis (breath, blood or urine test) at the request of a law enforcement officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the licensee is operating a motor vehicle on a highway or public vehicular area in violation of the license restrictions.
The person must also agree to be transported by the law enforcement officer upon the officer’s request to the place where chemical analysis is to be administered.Driving in violation of license restriction. 20-7(e) makes it unlawful for the holder of a restricted license to operate a motor vehicle without complying with the restriction and provides that this conduct “is the equivalent of operating a motor vehicle without a license.” Thus, a person who operates a motor vehicle in violation of an alcohol concentration restriction or who refuses to be transported for chemical testing commits the offense of failure to comply with a license restriction, a Class 3 misdemeanor.Additional revocation. A law enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe that a person has violated a restriction imposed pursuant to G.S. 20-19(c3) must complete an affidavit indicating the restriction violated and must mail the affidavit to DMV.
The affidavit used to report such a violation is the same form used to report a person’s refusal to submit to a test of his breath, blood or urine. It depends upon the reason you have an IID. If it is under a Conditional Restoration, then yes, this will cause a violation notice to be sent. If you have an IID under a BAC restriction it will not cause a violation notice as it was not a rolling retest and thus not a violation. In either case you should talk with an attorney about requesting a hearing at the DMV. The machines are built as safety devices and not measuring instruments.
They are very effective as safety devices but should not be relied upon as scientific measuring devices. If your machine incorrectly flags you for a suspension you need an attorney who understands how unreliable these devices are and understands how unamerican it is to have “trial by faulty device.”.
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March 2023
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