Getting your license back after suspension – Interlock System

Important data about the Vermont Interlock system and program.

​​On my Home Page video "What You Face With A Vermont DUI Conviction", I explain the likely penalties, and what you need to do to get your license reinstated. Let's talk about getting you back on the road after your suspension.

​Vermont now has a Restricted Drivers License program. As soon as you go under suspension for either a DUI or Civil License Suspension you will immediately be eligible for a Restricted Driver's License, or RDL, which you would get at your local DMV office. However if you are an out of State driver with a Vermont DUI or Civil Suspension, you are not eligible in Vermont for a restricted drivers license and the Interlock device. This is because the motor vehicle laws of your home State determine how long your suspension would be after a VT. DWI conviction.

​In order to get a restricted drivers license, you would need an Interlock device installed on your car’s instrument. It will require you, without warning, to blow into this handheld device within roughly 30 seconds of an electronic prompt. If you blow below a .04% breath alcohol content, then you will be able to continue to drive.

​However, if the interlock registers at least .04% or higher, your car will give off a signal which will require you to turn your car off and then restart it. There will also be a camera attached to your windshield, which is part of the Interlock rental, that would take your picture whenever you are required to blow. The camera ensures that you and not someone else is the person blowing into the Interlock.

​You would have to pay several hundred dollars to have the Interlock installed and some companies require you to pay a monthly service fee. On a monthly basis, the Interlock installer would download the data and forward it to the State.

​If at any time your breath alcohol content is high enough to force you to shut your car off, that will be reported to the State. You would then lose your Restricted Drivers License, and go back under suspension until your underlying suspension period from your DUI ended.
​So long as you blow under .04% each time the Interlock asks you to blow, you will be able to continue to drive until the end of your DWI suspension period. Then you would be eligible to get your regular driving privileges reinstated.

​If you were convicted of a DUI 1st offense Refusal or Civil License Suspension Refusal, you could still get the Interlock. However, since you refused the breath test you will have to wait 30 days before you become eligible for the Interlock. You would also have to drive with the Interlock for the 6 month suspension period that you would face with a DUI 1st Offense Refusal.

​If this is your 2nd offense DUI or Civil License Suspension, it is mandatory that you obtain the Interlock immediately upon going under suspension. If you took the breath test and it's your 2nd DUI, you will have to drive with the Interlock for the entire 18 month suspension period imposed for a DUI 2nd offense. If you are convicted of the DUI 2nd offense and you refused the breath test, you will have to wait 90 days before you would become eligible for the Interlock device.

​If you drive a motorcycle you can still get an Interlock for that vehicle. However, you can only drive a vehicle equipped with the Interlock device for as long as you have a Restricted Drivers License. This means that you cannot drive any other vehicle - even if it's your employer's vehicle - as long as you have the RDL.

​More questions about the Restricted Drivers License? Please go to the "DUI FAQ's " Home Page header on my website, and then scroll through the dropdown and click the section titled "Vermont's Interlock Program". You'll find lots of useful information all about the Restricted Drivers License and the Interlock Device.

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