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A provisional license allows you to drive to work, the grocery store and to court. |
Provisional Driver's License
If your Colorado driver's license is revoked because of a DUI arrest, you can request a provisional (or "red") driver's license. As the name suggests, this license allows you to drive for "provisional" reasons only, such as going to work, buying groceries, going to court, and so on. Generally, only first time offenders will be granted a provisional license, and only those with a blood alcohol content under 0.20. The higher your BAC, the less likely you will be granted the license. You cannot be given a provisional license if you refused the BAC test when you were arrested.
Your initial revocation is for three months on a first offense (if you took a BAC test). If you are granted a provisional license, the 90 day revocation turns into a six month suspension. However, only the first 30 days is no driving. During the remaining 150 days, you will be allowed to drive for provisional purposes only. This provisional driving privilege is only valid in Colorado. Further, it is limited to travel on routes associated with your essential needs. For example, if you travel from Golden to Denver on Interstate 70 to go to work, you are prohibited from being elsewhere in the Denver metro area. There are also limits on the times of day you are permitted to be driving. We will work with you to establish a list of essential places that you must drive, and ensure that your license provides for those routes.
If your blood alcohol content was over 0.170, you will be required to install an interlock device in your car before you can be issued a provisional license. This is a breath testing machine that will not allow you to start your vehicle if there is any alcohol content in your breath.
The best way to improve your chances of being granted a red license is to begin "Level 2 Alcohol Education and Therapy" through a state approved Denver area treatment provider before the date of your DMV hearing. Showing the hearing officer that you are taking steps to control your alcohol use will help to convince her that you should be granted the license. Your Denver DUI lawyer will prepare you for the types of questions the officer will ask you — questions about your drinking habits, and what you have learned from your mistake.
There is a zero tolerance policy for those driving on a provisional license. Any moving violation, even a one point violation, will completely suspend all driving privileges until the end of the probationary period. The worst case scenario would be if you were granted a provisionary license, and on the first day of driving you picked up another traffic ticket. In such a case, you would then be restricted from driving for the full six months of the probationary period — even though your initial revocation was only for three months. Please consider this risk before deciding to request a provisional license.
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