New York State DMV Look Back Period
Written By: Benjamin Goldman, Esq.
Anyone who has previously gotten a traffic ticket is aware of the process. A driver receives the ticket, goes to Court, and is offered a plea bargain. In most cases, the driver takes that plea bargain, pays the fine and goes on their way. Most traffic tickets never go to trial and are resolved this way.
Ideally, the plea that a driver accepts never comes up again. Unfortunately, that plea can be logged and has the potential to follow a driver around for decades.
DMV Look Back Period
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) keeps diligent records of motorists. While non-moving violations like parking tickets do not go on your abstract, other convictions like refusing to submit to a chemical test will go on your record. If you are facing a DUI and plea to a lower offense of a DWAI, this lesser offense will go on your record. This record will then be evaluated if a driver continues to drive poorly.
The lesser conviction of a DWAI can now be stacked against a driver who incurs future offenses. For example, a first time DWI is a misdemeanor. However, a DWI stacked on top of a previous DWAI can be a felony, complete with fines and collateral consequences like an ignition interlock device. For drivers that have pled guilty to multiple alcohol or drug related offenses within certain spans of years, the penalties grow exponentially.
Depending on the current charge, a driver is facing and whether they are in a criminal or administrative proceeding, this “look back” period ranges from five to twenty-five years. Depending on the situation, a transgression made over twenty years ago will come back to haunt you.
Look Back Periods and License Revocation
There are drivers in New York who have had their licenses suspended or revoked for matters that are not alcohol or drug related. Understandably, these drivers would like to have their privileges reinstated as soon as possible. The look back period also applies in this matter.
When a license is “revoked”, it is wiped off the face of the earth. A driver must apply for a new one after a period of time known as the “revocation period”. Upon receiving the application, the DMV will review your record for the last twenty-five years and any convictions on it. This is an incredibly long time and leads to real problems for drivers who have accepted alcohol and drug-related pleas in the past.
It is not uncommon for the DMV to deny your application in this situation. While a driver has the option to appeal, the same rationale will be applied to subsequent denials.
An experienced attorney will know which pleas to accept and how to protect your record. Unfavorable convictions stack up against a driver, and in some situations prevent them from reinstating their licenses after losing them. One option is to go back to the court and ask them to vacate the original guilty plea. If you are facing any alcohol or drug related charge it is critical to protect your short- and long-term driving record by consulting an attorney.