CALL US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

Alameda County DUIs

The following update will show beyond any doubt why any person charged with a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County needs an experienced Oakland DUI lawyer.

Oakland and Alameda County will be in the center of a heated and much watched battle pitting Oakland DUI lawyers against a new law going into effect July 1, 2010.

After July 1, 2010, any person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County must install an interlock device on any vehicle the licensee owns or operates with certain exceptions.

Oakland DUI lawyers will join the fight against the Oakland and Alameda County pilot/experimental program that runs from July 1, 2010 to January 1, 2016, along with three other California counties. This pilot program requires, as a condition of being issued a restricted license, or having the the privilege to operate a motor vehicle reinstated after a conviction in Oakland or Alameda County for a DUI, a driver must install for a specified amount of time an ignition interlock device on all vehicles he or she owns or operates, except as provided. The amount of time that an interlock device for a person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County would be required to be installed would be based upon the number of convictions.

This law would not go into effect concerning Oakland or Alameda County DUIs if the required funding for it does not occur by January 31, 2010.

This law would also require that manufacturers of ignition interlock devices and their agents certified by the DMV would be required to adopt a fee schedule for payment of the costs of the interlock device based on the Oakland or Alameda County DUI licensee’s ability to pay, and would also require the court to adopt a similar fee schedule with regard to the fees for Oakland and Alameda County DUI problem assessment programs.

Oakland and Alameda County DUI licensees would be exempt from having to install an interlock device on any vehicle that the Oakland or Alameda County DUI licensee is required to operate in the course and scope of his or her employment if (1) the vehicle is owned by the employer and (2) if the employer has been notified by the licensee that his or her driving privilege has been restricted and (3) if the person has proof of that notification in his or her possession in the vehicle when the Oakland or Alameda County DUI licensee uses the company vehicle. However, if the licensee is part owner of the business, the business vehicle is not subject to this exemption.

You will need an experienced Oakland DUI lawyer to prevent the following from happening to you if you are convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County:

A person convicted in Oakland or Alameda County of a first offense DUI will have to install an interlock device for five months.

A person convicted in Oakland or Alameda County of a second offense DUI must install an interlock device for twelve months.

A person convicted in Oakland or Alameda County of a third offense DUI shall install an interlock device for twenty four months.

A person convicted in Oakland or Alameda County of a fourth offense DUI shall install an interlock device for thirty six months.

A person convicted in Oakland or Alameda County of a first offense DUI with injury (VC 23153) shall install an interlock device for twelve months, a second offense DUI with injury for twenty four months, a third offense DUI with injury for thirty six months and a fourth offense DUI with injury for forty eight months.

A person in Oakland or Alameda County convicted of a DUI with an income at 100 percent of the federal poverty level and below is responsible for 10 percent of the cost of the interlock device.

A person in Oakland or Alameda County convicted of a DUI with an income of 101 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level is responsible for 25 percent of the cost of the interlock device.

A person in Oakland or Alameda County convicted of a DUI with an income of 201 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level is responsible for 50 percent of the cost of the interlock device.

All other persons in Oakland or Alameda County convicted of a DUI are responsible for the entire cost of the interlock device.

What are the costs that a person in Oakland or Alameda County convicted of a DUI will pay for a interlock device?

Typically, a person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County must pay for the installation of the interlock device. Such installation costs $50 to $200, and may be more if the vehicle is a luxury vehicle or requires longer installation time.

In addition, a person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County must pay a monthly rental fee for the interlock device. This fee ranges from $50 to $100 per month. A person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or AlamedA County will also be responsible for maintenance expenses as well as fee for downloading data from the ignition interlock device.

A person convicted of a DUI in Oakland or Alameda County will also be required to come in for scheduled appointments to have his or her ignition interlock device calibrated, or to have the records downloaded and the device resett so that he or she can keep driving. Going in for calibration appointments is extremely important. The interlock device will normally need to be checked every 60 days. Failure to maintain the device can be a violation of the person’s probation and restricted license status.

The costs, as you have seen, are why you need an experienced Oakland DUI laywer like Mark Blair to assist you. Call Mark Blair, a DUI lawyer who can help you avoid this new law, at (510) 845-4343.

DISCLAIMER: The results of any person’s DUI case described on this web site and/or in the Bay Area DUI Law newsletter depend on factual and legal circumstances that are unique to a specific person. Information provided by this web site and/or the Bay Area DUI Law newsletter does NOT constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Any reference to laws, procedures, punishment or license consequences at court or the DMV in this web site and/or Bay Area DUI Law newsletter is NOT intended to be complete description of what can and will happen in any or every DUI case but instead is a simplified summary to facilitate the reader’s understanding of general issues involving DUI law. The law is in constant change; penalties and consequences change; as such, the reader should not and cannot rely upon anything mentioned in this web site and/or Bay Area DUI Law newsletter. The reader is strongly advised to seek competent legal counsel to ascertain the law, penalties and consequences that apply to his/her unique circumstances.