Special Considerations for FAA License Holders

The FAA has set standards that require anyone who holds a pilot’s license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or driving while intoxicated is required to report any criminal conviction or DMV administrative action to the FAA within 60 days.

The FAA has listed the actions that must be reported within 60 days as follows:

• DUI / DWI court conviction
• Revocation, suspension, cancellation or restriction of driving privileges
• Administrative Per Se orders
• 10-day civil revocations
• Express consent revocation/suspension of driving privileges

The only way to avoid making a report to the FAA is to avoid a drunk driving conviction altogether. Any Department of Motor Vehicles action must be reported and every conviction must be reported. Therefore, even if a person pleads guilty to a lesser charge, in most cases that will be a conviction that requires reporting. An experienced criminal defense attorney will be required to aggressively defend the client both at the DMV hearing and the criminal court case when drunk driving is involved.

Upon notification of a driving under the influence court conviction or the results from the DMV hearing, it is probable that the Federal Aviation Administration will require the pilot to submit to a substance abuse or psychiatric evaluation. The results of the evaluation will determine whether the FAA will require a license-holder to enroll in a substance abuse treatment program, submit to close monitoring by the FAA, or take random drug or alcohol tests, or possibly a combination of the three penalties described..

Though a pilot will undergo an evaluation and possibly face other remedial punishments, typically, reporting a DUI / DWI conviction or driver’s license suspension to the FAA will not result in a revocation of a pilot’s license. However, if a pilot fails to report these actions in a timely manner, the FAA may move to suspend a pilot’s license or refuse to renew it when it expires.

Not all FAA license-holders fall within these reporting requirements. FAA license-holders who are not required to submit a medical certificate, such as aviation mechanics, are not required to report actions that stem from a drunk driving arrest.

To comply with the reporting requirement, simply send a notification letter to the FAA’s Security and Investigations Division within 60 calendar days of the effective date of a drunk driving court conviction or the DMV hearing resulting from a driving under the influence arrest. Any questions in this regard may be handled by a California DUI / DWI criminal defense attorney.

Federal Aviation Administration
Security and Investigations Division (AMC-700)
P.O. Box 25810
Oklahoma City, OK 73125

California Vehicle Code VC 13353.2 – Immediate Suspension

13353.2. (a) The department shall immediately suspend the privilege of any person to operate a motor vehicle for any one of the following reasons:

1. The person was driving a motor vehicle when the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.
2. The person was under 21 years of age and had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test, or other chemical test.

(b) The notice of the order of suspension under this section shall be served on the person by a peace officer pursuant to Section 13388 or 13382. The notice of the order of suspension shall be on a form provided by the department. If the notice of the order of suspension has not been served upon the person by the peace officer pursuant to Section 13388 or 13382, upon the receipt of the report of a peace officer submitted pursuant to Section 13380, the department shall mail written notice of the order of the suspension to the person at the last known address shown on the department’s records and, if the address of the person provided by the peace officer’s report differs from the address of record, to that address.

(c) The notice of the order of suspension shall clearly specify the reason and statutory grounds for the suspension, the effective date of the suspension, the right of the person to request an administrative hearing, the procedure for requesting an administrative hearing, and the date by which a request for an administrative hearing shall be made in order to receive a determination prior to the effective date of the suspension.

(d) The department shall make a determination of the facts in subdivision (a) on the basis of the report of a peace officer submitted pursuant to Section 13380. The determination of the facts, after administrative review pursuant to Section 13557, by the department is final, unless an administrative hearing is held pursuant to Section 13558 and any judicial review of the administrative determination after the hearing pursuant to Section 13559 is final.

(e) The determination of the facts in subdivision (a) is a civil matter which is independent of the determination of the person’s guilt or innocence, shall have no collateral estoppel effect on a subsequent criminal prosecution, and shall not preclude the litigation of the same or similar facts in the criminal proceeding. If a person is acquitted of criminal charges relating to a determination of facts under subdivision (a), or if the person’s driver’s license was suspended pursuant to Section 13388 and the department finds no basis for a suspension pursuant to that section, the department shall immediately reinstate the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle if the department has suspended it administratively pursuant to subdivision (a), and the department shall return or reissue for the remaining term any driver’s license which has been taken from the person pursuant to Section 13382 or otherwise. Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 13558, if criminal charges under Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 are not filed by the district attorney because of a lack of evidence, or if those charges are filed but are subsequently dismissed by the court because of an insufficiency of evidence, the person has a renewed right to request an administrative hearing before the department. The request for a hearing shall be made within one year from the date of arrest.

(f) The department shall furnish a form that requires a detailed explanation specifying which evidence was defective or lacking and detailing why that evidence was defective or lacking. The form shall be made available to the person to provide to the district attorney. The department shall hold an administrative hearing, and the hearing officer shall consider the reasons for the failure to prosecute given by the district attorney on the form provided by the department. If applicable, the hearing officer shall consider the reasons stated on the record by a judge who dismisses the charges. No fee shall be imposed pursuant to Section 14905 for the return or reissuing of a driver’s license pursuant to this subdivision. The disposition of a suspension action under this section does not affect any action to suspend or revoke the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle under any other provision of this code, including, but not limited to, Section 13352 or 13353, or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13800).

Amended Ch. 1281, Stats. 1992. Effective January 1, 1993.
Amended Ch. 1244, Stats. 1993. Effective January 1, 1994.
Amended Ch. 938, Stats. 1994. Effective September 28, 1994.
Amended Sec. 3.12, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.
Amended Sec. 14, Ch. 22, Stats. 1999. Effective May 26, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.

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California Vehicle Code VC 13364 – Dishonored Checks

13364.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended upon notification by a bank or financial institution that a check has been dishonored when that check was presented to the department for either of the following reasons:

1. In payment of a fine that resulted from an outstanding violation pursuant to Section 40508 or a suspension pursuant to Section 13365.
2. In payment of a fee or penalty owed by the person, if the fee or penalty is required by this code for the issuance, reissuance, or return of the person’s driver’s license after suspension, revocation, or restriction of the driving privilege.

(b) The suspension shall remain in effect until payment of all fines, fees, and penalties is made to the department or to the court, as appropriate, and the person’s driving record does not contain any notification of a court order issued pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 42003 or of a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 40508.

(c) No suspension imposed pursuant to this section shall become effective until 30 days after the mailing of a written notice of the intent to suspend.

(d) The written notice of a suspension imposed pursuant to this section shall be delivered by certified mail.

(e) If any personal check is offered in payment of fines described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) and is returned for any reason, the related notice issued pursuant to Section 40509 or 40509.5 shall be restored to the person’s record.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any license that has been suspended pursuant to this section shall immediately be reinstated, and the fees and penalties waived, upon the submission of proof acceptable to the department that the check has been erroneously dishonored by the bank or financial institution.

Added Ch. 845, Stats. 1993. Effective January 1, 1994.
Amended Sec. 56, Ch. 877, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999.

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California Vehicle Code VC 21200 – Laws Applicable to Bicycle Use: Peace Officer Exemption

21200. (a) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000), Section 27400, Division 16.7 (commencing with Section 39000), Division 17 (commencing with Section 40000.1), and Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000), except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application.

(b) (1) Any peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, operating a bicycle during the course of his or her duties is exempt from the requirements of subdivision (a), except as those requirements relate to driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, if the bicycle is being operated under any of the following circumstances:

1. In response to an emergency call.
2. While engaged in rescue operations.
3. In the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law.

(2) This subdivision does not relieve a peace officer from the duty to operate a bicycle with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway.

Amended Ch. 357, Stats. 1994. Effective January 1, 1995.

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California Vehicle Code VC 23598 – Live-in Alternative to Alcohol or Drug Education Program

23598. In lieu of the alcohol or drug education program prescribed by Section 23538, 23542, 23548, 23552, 23556, 23562, or 23568, a court may impose, as a condition of probation, that the person complete, subsequent to the underlying conviction, a program specified in Section 8001 of the Penal Code, if the person consents and has been accepted into that program. Acceptance into that program shall be verified by a certification, under penalty of perjury, by the director of the program.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.

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California Vehicle Code VC 23624 – Separate Convictions: Constitutional Challenge

23624. Only one challenge shall be permitted to the constitutionality of a separate conviction of a violation of Section 14601, 14601.2, 23152, or 23153, which was entered in a separate proceeding. When a proceeding to declare a separate judgment of conviction constitutionally invalid has been held, a determination by the court that the separate conviction is constitutional precludes any subsequent attack on constitutional grounds in a subsequent prosecution in which the same separate conviction is charged. In addition, any determination that a separate conviction is unconstitutional precludes any allegation or use of that separate conviction in any judicial or administrative proceeding, and the department shall strike that separate conviction from its records. Pursuant to Section 1803, the court shall report to the Department of Motor Vehicles any determination upholding a conviction on constitutional grounds and any determination that a conviction is unconstitutional.

This section shall not preclude a subsequent challenge to a conviction if, at a later time, a subsequent statute or appellate court decision having retroactive application affords any new basis to challenge the constitutionality of the conviction.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.

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California Vehicle Code VC 23538 – Conditions of Probation: First Conviction

23538. (a) (1) If the court grants probation to person punished under Section 23536, in addition to the provisions of Section 23600 and any other terms and conditions imposed by the court, the court shall impose as a condition of probation that the person pay a fine of at least three hundred ninety dollars ($390), but not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). The court may also impose, as a condition of probation, that the person be confined in a county jail for at least 48 hours, but not more than six months.

(2) The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the department under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352. The court shall require the person to surrender the driver’s license to the court in accordance with Section 13550.

(3) Whenever, when considering the circumstances taken as a whole, the court determines that the person punished under this section would present a traffic safety or public safety risk if authorized to operate a motor vehicle during the period of suspension imposed under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352, the court may disallow the issuance of a restricted driver’s license required under Section 13352.4.

(b) In any county where the board of supervisors has approved, and the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs has licensed, a program or programs described in Section 11837.3 of the Health and Safety Code, the court shall also impose as a condition of probation that the driver shall enroll and participate in, and successfully complete a driving-under-the-influence program, licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, in the driver’s county of residence or employment, as designated by the court. For the purposes of this subdivision, enrollment in, participation in, and completion of an approved program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. Credit may not be given for any program activities completed prior to the date of the current violation.

(1) The court shall refer a first offender whose blood-alcohol concentration was less than 0.20 percent, by weight, to participate for at least three months or longer, as ordered by the court, in a licensed program that consists of at least 30 hours of program activities, including those education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) The court shall refer a first offender whose blood-alcohol concentration was 0.20 percent or more, by weight, or who refused to take a chemical test, to participate for at least ( )1 nine months or longer, as ordered by the court, in a licensed program that consists of at least ( )2 60 hours of program activities, including those education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) The court shall advise the person at the time of sentencing that the driving privilege shall not be restored until proof satisfactory to the department of successful completion of a driving-under-the-influence program of the length required under this code that is licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code has been received in the department’s headquarters.

(c) (1) The court shall revoke the person’s probation pursuant to Section 23602, except for good cause shown, for the failure to enroll in, participate in, or complete a program specified in subdivision (b).

(2) The court, in establishing reporting requirements, shall consult with the county alcohol program administrator. The county alcohol program administrator shall coordinate the reporting requirements with the department and with the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. That reporting shall ensure that all persons who, after being ordered to attend and complete a program, may be identified for either (A) failure to enroll in, or failure to successfully complete, the program, or (B) successful completion of the program as ordered.

(d) This section shall become operative on September 20, 2005.

Added Sec. 16.5, Ch. 551, Stats. 2004. Effective January 1, 2005. Operative September 20, 2005.
Amended Sec. 3, Ch. 164, Stats. 2005. Effective January 1, 2006.
The 2005 amendment added the italicized material, and at the point(s) indicated, deleted the following:

1. "six"
2. "45"

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California Vehicle Code VC 23216 – Legislative Intent

23216. (a) The provisions of Sections 2, 6, 7, and 10 expressly apply to the provisions of this article, and, further, for any recidivist or enhancement purpose, reference to an offense by section number is a reference to the provisions contained in that section, insofar as they were renumbered by Chapter 940 of the Statutes of 1981 without substantive change, and those provisions shall be construed as restatements and continuations thereof and not as new enactments.

(b) Any reference in the provisions of this code to a separate violation of Section 23152 shall include a separate offense under Section 23102 or 23105, as those sections read prior to January 1, 1982.

(c) Any reference in the provisions of the Vehicle Code to a separate violation of Section 23153 shall include a separate offense under Section 23101 or 23106 as those sections read prior to January 1, 1982.

(d) The provisions of this section are to be given retroactive effect.

Added Ch. 1205, Stats. 1984. Effective January 1, 1985.

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California Vehicle Code VC 23115 – Rubbish Vehicles

23115. (a) No vehicle transporting garbage, swill, used cans or bottles, wastepapers, waste cardboard, ashes, refuse, trash, or rubbish, or any noisome, nauseous, or offensive matter, or anything being transported for disposal or recycling shall be driven or moved upon any highway unless the load is totally covered in a manner that will prevent the load or any part of the load from spilling or falling from the vehicle.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not prohibit a rubbish vehicle from being without cover while in the process of acquiring its load if no law, administrative regulation, or local ordinance requires that it be covered in those circumstances.

(c) Vehicles transporting wastepaper, waste cardboard, or used cans or bottles, are in compliance with subdivision (a) if appropriate binders including, but not limited to, bands, wires, straps, or netting are used to prevent the load, or any part of the load, from spilling or falling from the vehicle.

(d) This section does not apply to any vehicle engaged in transporting wet waste fruit or vegetable matter, or waste products to or from a food processing establishment.

Amended Sec. 1, Ch. 279, Stats. 2001. Effective January 1, 2002.

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California Vehicle Code VC 21208 – Permitted Movements from Bicycle Lanes

21208. (a) Whenever a bicycle lane has been established on a roadway pursuant to Section 21207, any person operating a bicycle upon the roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride within the bicycle lane, except that the person may move out of the lane under any of the following situations:

1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle, vehicle, or pedestrian within the lane or about to enter the lane if the overtaking and passing cannot be done safely within the lane.
2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
3. When reasonably necessary to leave the bicycle lane to avoid debris or other hazardous conditions.
4. When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.

(b) No person operating a bicycle shall leave a bicycle lane until the movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 22100) in the event that any vehicle may be affected by the movement.

Amended Sec. 5, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.

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