Washington DUI Blog

They say that every citizen is presumed to know the law. That is, of course, impossible. Nobody can know all the laws. Everybody knows that a DUI arrest and conviction, for instance, will result in driver’s license suspension. However, there is a laundry list of other actions that will result in a suspension of the license by the Department of licensing for at least 60 days, and sometimes for as much as one year, according to Washington Administrative Code WAC 308-104-075. Most people are unaware, for instance, that upon a license suspension because of a DUI arrest or conviction, if the driver fails to deliver the license to the Department of licensing, an additional suspension may be imposed. That rather unknown penalty is the consequence the combination of the WAC 308-104-075 and section 1(a) of RCW 46.20.091, which states that it is a misdemeanor for any person “willfully to fail or refuse to surrender to the Department upon its lawful demand any driver’s license or identicard which has been suspended, revoked or canceled.” A person who violates this section is subject to criminal punishment and also to additional suspension of the driver’s license under WAC 308-04-075. I have never heard of this particular provision being charged as a crime and I have never heard of the Department of licensing actually imposing an additional suspension upon an individual who fails to surrender his license to the Department of licensing after a DUI related suspension, but legally, both are possible. If you suffer a license suspension, the wise practice clearly is to comply with this law so as to avoid any unforseen difficulty. In our office, attorney Diana Lundin emphasizes DOL practice and can assist regarding fighting the DOL and staying out of trouble with your license.