Do You Have to Get a New Driver’s License if you Move to a New State?

People often forget that when you move to a new state, you MUST update your driver's license to the new state, or else your other license will be suspended. In Maryland, you have 60 days for a noncommercial driver's license to update to a Maryland license and 30 days for a commercial license. If caught with an out-of-state license past that time period, you will face a suspension on your license.

Sometimes people with out-of-state license with a suspension on their record will move to a new state in an attempt to get a new license without a suspension. When updating to a Maryland license, MVA will not give you a Maryland license until the suspension on your out-of-state license is resolved. In addition, when updating to a Maryland license, MVA forces you to surrender your out-of-state license.

A new change in Maryland regarding licenses is that you will no longer obtain your physical license at MVA. Instead, your new Maryland license will be mailed to you. The new Maryland driver's license is considered the most secure license in the country, and for that reason, MVA will no longer hand out licenses at any location.

If you've been charged with a traffic offense in Maryland related to a driver's license issue, call Portner & Shure today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515.

Charged with DUI in Maryland—Your Ability to Drive Will Be Significantly Affected

In Maryland, when you are arrested for DUI, the police officer will confiscate your driver's license (unless you have an out-of-state license) and provide you with a temporary paper license. This paper license must remain in your vehicle while driving or else you can be charged with driving without a license. The temporary license is only valid for 45 days, and on that 46th day if you have not taken any action, your ability to drive is suspended for a certain period of time depending on various facts of your case (i.e. results of the breath test, refusal of the breath test).  If you take the breath test and the results are under 0.15, you will have three options regarding your driver's license: (1) you may request a MVA hearing to get a restricted license that would still allow you to drive for things such as school or work; (2) you may install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for a one year period and that would allow you to drive freely; or (3) take the suspension, which varies depending on the facts of your case (180 days-2 years).  However, if you refuse the breath test or take the test with results over 0.15, you are only limited to option (2) and (3)--install the interlock device or take the suspension.

When arrested for a DUI in Maryland, time is a very important factor when it comes to your ability to drive after the arrest. If you are able to request a MVA hearing, you should do so within 10 days of your arrest because that guarantees that your hearing will be scheduled before the 46th day when your suspension will take place. If you do not request a MVA hearing within the first 10 days, you must request one within 30 days of the arrest, or else you lose your chance to get a restricted license.

If you've been arrested for a DUI in Maryland, don't put your driving ability at risk and make sure to hire a top 10 DUI law firm in Maryland to help you throughout the criminal and administrative processes. Call us today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000; (410) 995-1515.

Maryland's New Mobile Breath Test Truck Means More DUI Arrests

      We all should be familiar with the stricter DUI penalties in place in Maryland as of October 1, 2016. Police throughout Maryland are doing whatever it takes to catch as many drunk drivers as possible to keep roads and highways safe. Over the past few years, there have been far too many fatal accidents caused by drunk drivers and police want to put an end to that. We have just made it through the busiest time of the year for DUI arrests with holiday parties and New Years.

      Maryland State Police recently unveiled a Mobile Breath Test Truck that they can set up at DUI checkpoints to make the DUI arrest process much quicker. This is bad news for drunk drivers on the roads because this means that police can process a drunk driver much faster than they used to. In a typical DUI arrest, a police officer will pull you over, smell alcohol on your breath, ask you to submit to a preliminary breath test and/or perform field sobriety tests. Based on results of these tests, the police officer will then arrest you for DUI. Next, the officer will have to transport you to the police station to administer the official breathalyzer test. The results of that test are used in your case. This process took a significant amount of time to transport an offender from the scene of the arrest to the station. With the mobile breath test truck, officers can now perform the official breathalyzer test at the scene of the arrest and continue to make additional arrests.

     
       You should always think twice about drinking and driving, but there is even more reason now to call an Uber or Lyft instead of taking the risk to drive. Police are now more likely to catch you driving drunk on the roads than before.

If you are caught drinking and driving in Maryland, call Portner & Shure for a free consultation. The consequences are significant with Maryland's new laws, so don't risk your ability to drive and hire a Top 10 DUI law firm to represent you. Call us today: (301) 854-9000; (410) 995-1515.