What Are The New Jersey DWI Penalties For Specially Licensed Drivers?

 

If you’re an underage driver or have a CDL, you’ll want to read this

 

Drivers who have special licenses face some very strict New Jersey DWI laws. Drivers who are just beginning to learn how to drive and are under the age of 21, and those who drive commercially for a living, face different consequences for drunk driving than does the typical adult driver.

 

Consider the fact that those drivers (even boaters) who are under the age of 21 risk a New Jersey DWI conviction with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of just .01% or higher! If convicted, those drivers will lose their license from 30 to 90 days, and will be required to spend between 15 and 30 days in community service. However, it is possible to combine minimum sentences with mandatory DWI fines and penalties, which are: $250 to $400 fines, attendance at the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), which has a fee of $75 per day (see below), a $100 fee paid to the drunk driving fund, $75 paid to the Safe Neighborhood Services Fund, and a total payment of $3,000 in surcharges ($1,000 every year for three years). Added together, this a total of $3,500 MINIMUM. You’ll also be required to participate in highway safety programs and alcohol education. And it’s possible you’ll have to have an ignition interlock device (IID) installed on your vehicle (at your own expense).

 

Any additional underage drinking offenses could result in the loss of your license for up to ten years, plus an increase to $1,500 in the yearly surcharge, bringing the three-year total to $4,500. And those drivers who are under the age of 17 will be subject to a delay in the processing of their driver’s license from 30 to 90 days.

 

Commercial drivers, those who drive vehicles for a living (and posses a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)), are subject to their own set of dwi laws. Consider the repercussions of just one New Jersey DWI: A first offense committed in ANY vehicle (not just a commercial vehicle, but a commercial driver’s own personal vehicle) will result in their CDL being suspended for a period of one year. This means that a drunk driving conviction will deprive you from being able to provide for yourself and your family by driving a commercial vehicle. In addition, your basic driver’s licenses will also be suspended for a period from three to 12 months. A second DWI will result in the permanent revocation of your CDL, along with a two-year suspension of your basic driver’s license. Finally, any subsequent convictions will result in a lifetime disqualification of your CDL. In other words, you’re going to need to find a different line of work, because you will no longer be driving commercially. Even if you’re convicted of a DWI in another State, that State will report it to New Jersey. And even if you were driving your own personal vehicle, New Jersey will suspend your CDL for one year for your first conviction, and for life for any subsequent conviction.

 

Anyone who has been convicted of a New Jersey DWI must attend IDRC programs. There is an IRDC in each New Jersey County for first-time offenders. The centers provide highway safety education and alcohol courses. Because the IRDC offers an alcohol or drug problem evaluation, they’ll also determine if there’s a need for treatment. If that’s the case, the treatment will last a minimum of 16 weeks at the appropriate provider. This treatment can be supplemented with self-help group attendance. The IDRC works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) and reports compliance; noncompliance can result in additional license suspension and possible jail time.