California DMV Driver License Suspension After an Injury Traffic Accident

Why does the DMV revoke a driver license after an injury traffic accident?  

Every time a driver gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, he or she is accepting the responsibility that comes with the operation of that vehicle.  Travelling at highway speeds, a basic family sedan can be a devastating instrument of death or serious injury if the driver does not drive with great care.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the government entity empowered with the oversight of all people who operate motor vehicles in the State of California.  One of the DMV’s primary areas of concern is that all California drivers maintain the requisite skill and knowledge necessary to safely drive.  Beyond the basic knowledge and skill to drive, however, the DMV will be equally concerned about any driver who’s driving history or driving actions demonstrate any degree of negligence.

Essentially, when a person is seriously injured or killed as the result of a motor vehicle accident, the DMV wants to get their “pound of flesh.”  They seek to make someone responsible and by suspending or revoking the privilege to drive, the department feels their mandate is fulfilled.

The DMV may label any driver as a Negligent Operator if there is good cause to do so.  Some of the most common reasons which cause a driver to be labeled as a Negligent Operator are:

• Accumulating too many points for moving violations in a specified period of time.
• Accumulating too many points for “at fault” traffic accidents in a specified period of time.
• Causing or contributing to a Fatality Traffic Accident.
• Causing or contributing to a Serious Injury Traffic Accident.
• Road Rage
• Speed Contests
• Reckless Driving

In this article, we focus on those cases where the DMV labels a driver as a Negligent Operator because he or she has caused or contributed to a Serious Injury Traffic Accident.  First of all, a driver need not have accumulated any “points” to be labeled a Negligent Operator.  Just one traffic accident which results in the serious injury to another person is sufficient for the driver to be found negligent.

Also, the driver need not be the primary cause of the traffic accident to be deemed negligent.  By simply contributing to the events that caused the crash is sufficient or the DMV to take a suspension action.  Some of the factors the DMV may consider when reviewing a driver’s role in a Serious Injury Traffic Accident are:

• Was the driver traveling at high speed on crowded roads or during peak hours of traffic?
• Was the driver attempting to evade law enforcement officers?
• Was the driver operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of any substance?
• Was the driver operating a motor vehicle in a clearly reckless manner?
• Did the driver disregard foreseeable risk factors?
• Was the driver engaged in racing or a speed contest?
• Was the driver operating a vehicle they were not properly licensed to drive?
• Did the driver commit traffic violations which caused or contributed to the accident?
• Did the driver attempt to pass on a winding road or blind corner?
• Did the driver misjudge the distance of an oncoming car?
• Was the driver eating, smoking, drinking or doing anything else which caused distraction?

The reasons a driver may contribute to an accident is virtually endless, but if you were in a serious injury traffic accident and it is determined you failed to do something that could have prevented the accident; or if you directly caused the accident, the DMV may be coming for your driver license.  “Causing the accident is self-evident.  If you are the proximate cause of a Serious Injury Accident, the DMV will seek to suspend your license, however, the DMV will be equally aggressive in suspending your privilege if you simply “contribute” to the accident.  This is a clearly vague and ambiguous term that grants the DMV great discretion to apply whatever facts they wish.  Simply being present at an accident could be defined as “contributing” to the crash.

What is the DMV’s definition of a “Serious Injury?”

The California Vehicle Code (CVC) specifically defines what is considered a “serious injury.”  For the purposes of a Negligent Operator suspension/revocation, it is any injury that:

• Causes a lapse of consciousness
• Causes a concussion
• Causes a bone fracture
• Causes a protracted loss or impairment of function of a bodily member or organ.
• Causes a wound from which blood flows freely.
• Causes a wound that requires extensive suturing.
• Causes a brain injury.
• Causes paralysis.

What permits the DMV to revoke a driver license following a Serious Injury traffic accident? 

Following a “Serious Injury” traffic accident, a driver will learn that the DMV intends to suspend or revoke their driver license when they open an unexpected envelope from the California DMV.  The DMV notifies a driver of the intended suspension/revocation of their license by sending an order that is entitled: ORDER OF SUSPENSION/REVOCATION.

Within the body of the Order, the DMV will justify the suspension/revocation of the driver license by claiming the driver “caused or contributed to” an injury accident.

Essentially, the DMV will determine that because you caused or contributed to the injury of another person, you must be a Negligent Operator and therefore cannot be trusted to drive on our public roadways.

California Vehicle Code Section 13800(a) determines that:

“The department may conduct an investigation to determine whether the privilege of any person to operate a motor vehicle should be suspended or revoked or whether terms or conditions of probation should be imposed upon receiving information or upon a showing by its records that the Licensee has been involved as a driver in any  accident causing death or personal injury or serious damage to property.”

California Vehicle Code Section 13953 determines that:

         “If upon investigation or re-examination the department determines that the safety of the person subject to the investigation, or other persons upon the highway, require such action; the department shall forthwith and with 30 days written notice suspend or revoke the driving privilege of the person affected…”

Fortunately, the Vehicle Code does permit an accused driver to request an Administrative Hearing to demonstrate why the suspension or revocation is not warranted.  Known as a Negligent Operator Hearing, this is one of the most complicated of all Administrative Hearings conducted by the DMV.

How do I request an Administrative Hearing for a Serious Injury Accident?

As stated above, nearly all drivers learn their privilege to drive has been suspended when they receive an Order of Suspension in the mail.  In most cases, the affected driver has no clue the DMV is conducting an investigation until they receive this order.

When you receive the Order of Suspension/Revocation in the mail……….. Read it Carefully.  The Order will give you some vital information such as:

• The date the order was written.
• The date the suspension/revocation is effective….. This is when you must stop driving.
• The reason the action is being taken.
• The Authority the DMV is using to take the action.
• Your right to an Administrative Hearing.

Once you have read the Order and digested its information, you must begin the work of getting yourself back on the road.   You have a right to a hearing and should exercise your right to do so.

California Vehicle Code Section 14100(a) determines that:

“Whenever the department has given notice, or has taken or proposes to take action under Section 12804.15, 13353, 13353.2, 13950, 13951, 13952 or 13953, the person receiving the notice or subject to the action, may within 10 days, demand a hearing which shall be granted, except as provided in Section 14101.”  

The only way to protect your driving privilege is to contact the Driver Safety Office nearest to your home and demand an Administrative Hearing.  That is the DMV Office that will have jurisdiction over your case.  By contacting the Driver Safety Office within the time frame mandated by law, you preserve your right to a hearing to reverse the intended suspension of your license.  Also, if your demand for hearing is made in a timely manner, you may be eligible for a “Stay of Suspension” which stops the suspension of your driving privilege until the outcome of the hearing.

Requesting an Administrative Hearing can be tricky business as the department has a long history of being difficult to deal with or may provide incorrect information.  It is in your best interest to retain the services of a quality DMV Defense Advocate and let them request the hearing.

If you elect to represent yourself and to schedule your own hearing, just remember to do everything in writing. Also keep a log of information so you can demonstrate contacts with the Department including when you spoke with the DMV and who you spoke to.  Remember document, document, document.

How can I win a DMV Hearing for a serious injury accident?

The DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates have been conducting and wining Negligent Operator for Serious Injury or Fata Traffic Collisions for many decades.  We have a “tried and true” approach to these matters that works.  Consequently we win our hearings again and again, and so our Client’s are able to keep their driving privilege.

The path we use to ensure our Client’s driving future are:

• Request Hearing:  Once we are engaged to represent a Client the first step we take is to contact the Drivers Safety Office nearest our Client’s home.  We make a formal request for an Administrative Hearing and  Stay of Suspension.  Requesting a Negligent Operator Hearing requires careful consideration as to when to set the hearing and to be assigned to a fair and impartial Hearing Officer.
• Intake Interview: Once we have secured your right to a hearing we then conduct an extensive interview with you.  We want to learn all about who you are.  We need to understand your medical history, driving history, criminal history and any other issues which may be relevant to our case.  We will need details on what caused the accident and other details that may reveal issues which may have contributed to the accident.
• Collect Discovery: Any reports, statements, or other information the DMV seeks to use against you must be provided to us. We receive this evidence and share it with you.  This gives you the opportunity to point out any discrepancies in the DMV’s case.
• Investigation: We conduct our investigation.  We examine the primary collision factor and seek out witnesses.  We conduct scene inspections and vehicle inspections.  We examine roadway design and weather conditions.  The bottom line is we go looking for the truth.
• Prepare for Hearing: We compile our case and prepared notice to the DMV which alerts them to evidence and witnesses we may be presenting.  We prepare you for testimony and we prepare our arguments.
• Conduct Hearing: Your hearing will be run much like a mini trial.  We present evidence and witnesses. We cross examine investigating officers and witnesses.  Experts may testify and legal arguments are waged.
• Conclusion: When the hearing concludes, the DMV Hearing Officer will render a decision in writing. 

What are the possible outcomes at a DMV Injury Accident Hearing? 

The primary focus of any Injury Accident Hearing at the DMV is to determine if the accused driver was negligent in his operation of a motor vehicle, and if so, to what degree.  If the DMV concludes that a driver’s negligence did play a role in causing or contributing to a Serious Injury Traffic Accident the possible outcomes are:

• Revocation……….Revocation of the driving privilege is warranted for an indeterminate period of time when there are severe, flagrant, aggravated and reckless driving acts.
• Suspension………Suspension of the driving privilege is warranted for a specified period of time when the driver failed to exercise a reasonable amount of care to avoid the accident.
• Restriction……..Restriction of the driving privilege may be warranted when there is negligence warranting action but it was not severe and when it is not likely to recur.
• Probation……… Driving Probation may be granted when there is a low degree of negligence and the driving record indicates there is no preponderance toward bad driving habits.
• Order of Set Aside…….. The DMV will fully reinstate the driving privilege.   This is the best of all worlds because the Hearing Officer essentially makes a finding of “Not Guilty.” This type of result requires representation from a highly experienced DMV Defense Advocate.

Call the DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates. 

The DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates have been conducting Serious Injury Accident Hearings at the DMV for many years.  Our team of former police officers, former DMV hearing officers, licensed investigators and scientists all work as one cohesive unit to create a robust defense.

We cover all the basis.  You will receive quality defense with respect, patience and caring.

If the DMV is seeking to suspend or revoke your driver license following the trauma of an injury traffic accident, you don’t have to face them alone.  Call the experts at California Drivers Advocates.  We’ll drop everything to step into your case.

Quality and compassionate DMV Defense I just a phone call away.

Advocates.  We’ll drop everything to step into your case.