Where Can One Drive with Interlock Installed?

[jb79]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

My 79 y/o husband got a DUI in December. His punishment was to have the Interlock device installed on his vehicle. He has two problems that we can't get answers to.

1) How can we find out if the Interlock device will be installed for 6 months or 12 months? His lawyer doesn't seem to know. We think it's 12 months.

2) How can we find out where my husband is permitted to drive? At the VASAP meetings, other DUI offenders told him they were permitted to drive anywhere. My husband spoke to both a VASAP person and his lawyer and they told him he can only drive to: ASAP meetings, medical related things (doctor's appointments), the Interlock place, and court and probation related things. His driver's license is marked with a court code that indicates this is accurate. Additionally, they also told him that if he is out for one of the above mentioned things, he is allowed to stop at a store. Is there a way to verify this is true? Why do other first time DUI offenders get to drive anywhere and my husband is restricted? His BAC was under .15%.

There was a new law passed in 2020 where a person can apply for an "any purpose" license as long as the Interlock device is installed for 12 months. It looks like if it's installed for 6 months that's when a person would have a restricted license for 12 months. Very confusing stuff.

Just asking because I am tired of arguing with him about all this. The only one getting punished is me because I have to do everything for him like a mother would for a child. It's really ticking me off. I am sick of this crap and just wish everyone could get on the same page. I don't know why the court didn't send him paperwork about what he is and isn't allowed to do. That's really stupid.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

My 79 y/o husband got a DUI in December. His punishment was to have the Interlock device installed on his vehicle. He has two problems that we can't get answers to.

1) How can we find out if the Interlock device will be installed for 6 months or 12 months? His lawyer doesn't seem to know. We think it's 12 months.

Ask the attorney to verify.

2) How can we find out where my husband is permitted to drive? At the VASAP meetings, other DUI offenders told him they were permitted to drive anywhere. My husband spoke to both a VASAP person and his lawyer and they told him he can only drive to: ASAP meetings, medical related things (doctor's appointments), the Interlock place, and court and probation related things. His driver's license is marked with a court code that indicates this is accurate. Additionally, they also told him that if he is out for one of the above mentioned things, he is allowed to stop at a store. Is there a way to verify this is true? Why do other first time DUI offenders get to drive anywhere and my husband is restricted? His BAC was under .15%.

It sounds to me like you already know the answer to this question and simply don't like it.

There was a new law passed in 2020 where a person can apply for an "any purpose" license as long as the Interlock device is installed for 12 months. It looks like if it's installed for 6 months that's when a person would have a restricted license for 12 months. Very confusing stuff.

Ok

Just asking because I am tired of arguing with him about all this. The only one getting punished is me because I have to do everything for him like a mother would for a child. It's really ticking me off. I am sick of this crap and just wish everyone could get on the same page. I don't know why the court didn't send him paperwork about what he is and isn't allowed to do. That's really stupid.

I must admit that I, along with millions of other folks, have never experienced what you (or he) is going through. We managed to avoid it by not driving drunk. Please be sure that the target of all of your frustrations is your husband. I'm also going to point out that your are making the choice to be your husband's chauffeur.

 

[Zigner]

Just as a reminder for other responders:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/first-dui-have-a-few-questions-not-sure-what-to-do.662038/

 

[quincy]

Your husband has a lawyer. It is the lawyer’s job to know (or find out) what the court decided in regards to your husband’s DUI. And it is your husband’s job, not yours, to find out this information from his lawyer.

I suggest that you refuse to transport your husband anywhere and you let him search out for himself what driving restrictions he is under.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

My 79 y/o husband got a DUI in December. His punishment was to have the Interlock device installed on his vehicle. He has two problems that we can't get answers to.

1) How can we find out if the Interlock device will be installed for 6 months or 12 months? His lawyer doesn't seem to know. We think it's 12 months.

His lawyer absolutely should know the answer to that question. If the lawyer is uncertain, then it may be that your husband's license is at risk for more reasons than just the DUI.

2) How can we find out where my husband is permitted to drive? At the VASAP meetings, other DUI offenders told him they were permitted to drive anywhere. My husband spoke to both a VASAP person and his lawyer and they told him he can only drive to: ASAP meetings, medical related things (doctor's appointments), the Interlock place, and court and probation related things. His driver's license is marked with a court code that indicates this is accurate. Additionally, they also told him that if he is out for one of the above mentioned things, he is allowed to stop at a store. Is there a way to verify this is true? Why do other first time DUI offenders get to drive anywhere and my husband is restricted? His BAC was under .15%.

If his license is marked with a code that tends to confirm that he is restricted as to where he can drive, then he is restricted. You don't need to verify anything. However yes, people with restricted licenses can normally stop at stores and places that are mostly on the way from home to wherever they are permitted to go. A BAC of .15 % is actually pretty high.

There was a new law passed in 2020 where a person can apply for an "any purpose" license as long as the Interlock device is installed for 12 months. It looks like if it's installed for 6 months that's when a person would have a restricted license for 12 months. Very confusing stuff.

Just asking because I am tired of arguing with him about all this. The only one getting punished is me because I have to do everything for him like a mother would for a child. It's really ticking me off. I am sick of this crap and just wish everyone could get on the same page. I don't know why the court didn't send him paperwork about what he is and isn't allowed to do. That's really stupid.

Just stop arguing with him. Make some rules about when and how often you will run around for him and leave it at that.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Why do other first time DUI offenders get to drive anywhere and my husband is restricted? His BAC was under .15%.

There may be other factors in his case.

There may be more reason to curtail his driving.

By the way. is your husband 72 or 79?

Would it be correct to assume that his BAC was at least 0.10?

 

[jb79]

There may be other factors in his case.

There may be more reason to curtail his driving.

By the way. is your husband 72 or 79?

Would it be correct to assume that his BAC was at least 0.10?

Oops! Sorry, he is 72, I had someone else on the brain when I was wrote that. His BAC was .12, I think. He was charged with reckless driving as well. He claims someone was following him and he was afraid they were trying to carjack him. He was trying to get away from them. I suspect the person probably thought he was drunk and was following him until the police showed up.

The problem that I have with him is that he has mild cognitive impairment and even though he understands he's restricted, it's like he doesn't understand it at the same time. It's like telling a child not to touch the burner on the stove because they'll get hurt, but the child goes and does it anyway for reasons nobody understands.

His many doctors don't have a problem with him driving. He's had extensive testing done and there's no issue with driving. However, the DMV recently became aware of his cognitive impairment so now he has to get his doctors to do all this paperwork saying he is ok to drive.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with him. I told him not to go anywhere except where he is allowed and he doesn't listen. He doesn't understand why he is restricted and other 1st time offenders are not. He should be lucky though, this is technically his 2nd offense. The first one was in the 1970s or early 80s.

Ultimately, I am getting punished because he is not capable of taking care of his own paperwork and legal stuff. I had to do everything for him like scan the documents and email them to his lawyer. The cost of all the legal fees and the Interlock device hurts me because he doesn't care if he has no money and ends up homeless. He's such a nuisance. lol.

 

[AlmostThere]

The first thing to do is to clarify his restrictions. Then it is up to you if you are willing to play cop for the next 6-12 months, or let him do what he wants and face the consequences. I don't see many other options.

 

[Zigner]

A 72 year old drinker with cognitive impairments? I hope the docs do the right thing.

 

[quincy]

Oops! Sorry, he is 72, I had someone else on the brain when I was wrote that. His BAC was .12, I think. He was charged with reckless driving as well. He claims someone was following him and he was afraid they were trying to carjack him. He was trying to get away from them. I suspect the person probably thought he was drunk and was following him until the police showed up.

The problem that I have with him is that he has mild cognitive impairment and even though he understands he's restricted, it's like he doesn't understand it at the same time. It's like telling a child not to touch the burner on the stove because they'll get hurt, but the child goes and does it anyway for reasons nobody understands.

His many doctors don't have a problem with him driving. He's had extensive testing done and there's no issue with driving. However, the DMV recently became aware of his cognitive impairment so now he has to get his doctors to do all this paperwork saying he is ok to drive.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with him. I told him not to go anywhere except where he is allowed and he doesn't listen. He doesn't understand why he is restricted and other 1st time offenders are not. He should be lucky though, this is technically his 2nd offense. The first one was in the 1970s or early 80s.

Ultimately, I am getting punished because he is not capable of taking care of his own paperwork and legal stuff. I had to do everything for him like scan the documents and email them to his lawyer. The cost of all the legal fees and the Interlock device hurts me because he doesn't care if he has no money and ends up homeless. He's such a nuisance. lol.

If you have joint assets, you are risking them should your husband get in a serious car accident and someone else is injured or killed. I suggest you start looking out for yourself. Opening separate bank accounts in your name only is one step you can take.

If your husband has a cognitive impairment, if he is incapable of understanding his driving restrictions, and if he has an inability to control his drinking and driving, he should not be driving at all. He probably should make an appointment with a different (elder care) doctor to better assess his abilities.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Oops! Sorry, he is 72, I had someone else on the brain when I was wrote that. His BAC was .12, I think. He was charged with reckless driving as well. He claims someone was following him and he was afraid they were trying to carjack him. He was trying to get away from them. I suspect the person probably thought he was drunk and was following him until the police showed up.

The problem that I have with him is that he has mild cognitive impairment and even though he understands he's restricted, it's like he doesn't understand it at the same time. It's like telling a child not to touch the burner on the stove because they'll get hurt, but the child goes and does it anyway for reasons nobody understands.

You've just listed 3 very good reasons for him not to drive.

He should not be driving at all. I have a 72 year old in-law who is blind who I would trust more on the road.

He could have killed someone. Even with the interlock, he could still kill someone. Could you live with that?

 

[LdiJ]

Please take what people say seriously. My father had mild cognative impairment and we all knew that his driver's license needed to be yanked but mom was convinced that as soon as we did that he would just give up and die. He got seriously lost several times and the police called mom to come and get him every time. They took him to the hospital once. The final straw was when he drove his pickup truck 90 miles away from home and parked in someone's front lawn The entire side of the truck was damaged, and we still to this day don't know what he hit. That was when we finally yanked his license and car keys. His cognative impairment was a bit more than mild by then.

Cognative impairment can happen very slowly, over a long period of time or it can also happen very quickly. I don't think that it was more than about 3 years when we started realizing that dad was having memory issues, and his death. His progressed very fast. Your husband's can too. You would hate yourself if he got in an accident and seriously damaged someone's property or hurt someone, or heaven forbid, worse.

I can't imagine cognative impairment combined with drinking and driving. That is a recipe for utter disaster.