On November 6, 2024, several changes were made by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). These changes were made to improve highway safety and crack down on repeat traffic offenders. At DuBois Law, it's our job to make sure you're informed of these kinds of changes so that in case you need an attorney to defend you, you will be well aware of the details that matter most. In this blog, we will break down and explain these rule changes in New York State concerning DUI/DWI and other drug-impaired convictions. 

What Are These Rule Changes?

The first major change is that DWIs now carry a penalty of 11 points, which wasn't a penalty before. Under this new rule, both DWI's and DWAI's will carry 11 points. Before, these were not a thing, and you were only assessed with “negative units” for re-licensing purposes. These points are separate from criminal penalties, court fines, and mandatory surcharges.

The second change is that the period for you to accumulate points has gone from 18 months to 24 months. Within two years, these violations are now considered for administrative actions like suspensions or mandatory hearings.

The third change revolves around having a suspended or revoked license. If you're caught with it, the penalty, like with the DWI rule change, is that you carry a penalty of 11 points.

How This Affects Young Drivers

A big point that has been made within these rule changes is how this will affect younger drivers, particularly those under the age of 19. If you're convicted of these offenses and are adjudicated as a Youthful Offender (someone who fits that age description), then now, the same type of conviction still applies to you if you're older or younger.

For kids and young adults in their mid to late 20s, being convicted of a DUI/DWI is a very damaging consequence on their lives. Having these points and the conviction itself on a criminal record can negatively affect job prospects and future opportunities. Your license will be suspended (tying into the other rule change of if you're caught with a suspended license), you might receive multiple fines, and then potentially, jail time might come from it.

The Penalties of These Changes

When it comes to paying fines, that is one of the legal implications of these new changes. Fines of which will be heavily mixed with all the other penalties you may endure. 

These would be branded as “criminal penalties” and “administrative penalties” based on what our website says. The new changes make the fines fall under what's called a Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA). If we break down the 11-point DWI conviction this new change brings, the fines are a $750 DRA for alcohol-related violations, and $675 DRA for points-based violations. That's $1,425 in additional fees over three years, excluding court-imposed fines, surcharges, or license restoration costs.

The Legal Implications and How We Can Defend You

No worries! We have ways of helping you with a defense if you need it. On our DUI/DWI page we outline several ways of defense that can help you:

In the case of a DWI/DWAI/DUI, it mainly comes down to challenging any chemical or sobriety tests that you were administered to. You can challenge the validity of the results, and sobriety tests are not a good case for something you can be convicted on. Finally, no police officer should be allowed to stop you without a good reason and just like with both chemical and sobriety tests, if you can get a great defense attorney who knows the laws of these tests, you will be in good shape to avoid any major penalties. Reach out to us if you have any questions!

DISCLAIMER: PAST RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. THIS BLOG POST IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, DANIEL DUBOIS AND/OR ANY DUBOIS LAW ATTORNEY(S) ARE NOT YOUR ATTORNEY(S) UNLESS RETAINED. INFORMATION SHARED HERE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AND IS DECIDED BASED ON ITS OWN FACTS AND MERITS AND CANNOT BE COMPARED TO OTHER CASES WHICH MAY HAVE HAD DIFFERENT FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES.