Tulsa DUI and Drivers License Information

By Glen R. Graham, Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney, 1612 S. Cincinnati Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119 Telephone: (918) 583-4621

In regard to your drivers which is treated separate from your criminal case in a Driving Under the Influence or Actual Physical Control of Motor Vehicle while under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs case, you need to know the following:

YOU ONLY HAVE 15 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF YOUR ARREST FOR A DUI OR APC TO REQUEST A HEARING AND/OR A MODIFIED WORK PERMIT. You should contact an attorney within fifteen (15) days of the date of your arrest so the attorney can assist you in doing something about your drivers license or your license may be suspended for six (6) months or longer.

If you fail to make a timely request (actually received) and not just mailed to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Driver Improvement Division, within 15 days of the date of your arrest then your license will be suspended for six (6) months or longer.

It may take the Department of Public Safety about 3 weeks or 21 days to respond to your letter, so you should send it immediately. You or your attorney could fax this letter to the DPS immediately.

The Response letter from the Dept of Public Safety will say (indirectly) that
you have twenty (20) days from the date of their letter to send them the attached application for a modified drivers license along with $175 dollars or in the alternative attached is a temporary license good for 60 days and they will schedule it for a Dept. of Public Safety Administrative hearing if they do not receive the application and money within their 20 day time limit.
You could call them and ask for more time to send the $175 dollars.

IF YOU DO NOT SEND THEM THE MONEY PLUS THEIR COMPLETED APPLICATION BACK TO THEM WITHIN 20 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THEIR LETTER THEN THEY WILL SET IT FOR A DPS HEARING.

IF YOU LOSE THAT DPS HEARING -- THE ONLY WAY TO GET A TEMPORARY LICENSE IS TO APPEAL WHICH COSTS YOU:

These costs must be paid before you can appeal:
COURT COSTS OF $145 DOLLARS
APPEAL BOND OF $250 DOLLARS
ATTORNEY FEE OF (? Negotiable) DOLLARS

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE DPS HEARING and YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THE ABOVE APPEAL COSTS.

YOU CAN SAVE THE ABOVE APPEAL MONEY BY PAYING THE $175 WITHIN 20 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THEIR LETTER AND SENDING IN THE APPLICATION FOR A TEMPORARY LICENSE.

If you want to fight the case and you have the money, then you can go ahead and have the DPS hearing, if you lose, it costs more money to get a temporary drivers license.

Also, you can use the Department of Public Safety hearing as a discovery hearing to see what the weaknesses in the case are and to see what the officer would testify to if you had a trial in the criminal case which is treated separate from the license matter.

One important basic principal on all driving under the influence and actual physical control cases is the well known fact that you are going to be required to obtain a SASI - Substance Abuse Screening Inventory (Assessment) - which is required now by state law. This assessment is to determine if you have a problem with substance abuse issues and what treatment, if any, will be required. The Court and the Department of Public Safety are going to require you to obtain a Substance Abuse Screening Inventory Assesssment. There are several good assessors and Tulsa DUI Schools, here are some referrals:

Gordon Greer and Kathleen Greer and Associates have one of the best Tulsa DUI Schools and Tulsa DUI Assessments named Accurate DUI School in Tulsa at 918-960-3434 Address: 12749 E. 41st St., Tulsa, Oklahoma Web link:
http://www.accurateduischool.com/ and they also provide counseling for other matters. They are currently located on 41st Street near Garnett and 129th East Ave., in Tulsa, Oklahoma.