DUI Under 21 Years of Age

DUI Conviction: Persons Under 21: Required Suspension

13352.6. (a) The department shall immediately suspend the driving privilege of any person who is 18 years of age or older and is convicted of a violation of Section 23140, upon receipt of a duly certified abstract of the record of any court showing that conviction. The privilege may not be reinstated until the person provides the department with proof, satisfactory to the department, of financial responsibility and of successful completion of a driving-under-the-influence program licensed under Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code. That attendance shall be as follows:

(1) If, within seven years of the current violation of Section 23140, the person has not been convicted of a separate violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or of Section 23103, with a plea of guilty under Section 23103.5, or of Section 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, or of Section 191.5 of, or paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of, the Penal Code, the person shall complete, at a minimum, the education component of that licensed driving-under-the-influence program.

(2) If the person does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1), the person shall complete, at a minimum, the program described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 11837 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b) For the purposes of this section, enrollment, participation, and completion of the program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. No credit for enrollment, participation, or completion may be given for any program activities completed prior to the date of the current violation.

VEHICLE CODE SECTION 23140

23140. (a) It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years who has 0.05 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.

(b) A person may be found to be in violation of subdivision (a) if the person was, at the time of driving, under the age of 21 years and under the influence of, or affected by, an alcoholic beverage regardless of whether a chemical test was made to determine that person's blood-alcohol concentration and if the trier of fact finds that the person had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle while having a concentration of 0.05 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon a finding that a person has violated this section, the clerk of the court, or judge if there is no clerk, shall prepare within 10 days after the finding and immediately forward to the department an abstract of the record of the court in which the finding is made. That abstract shall be a public record and available for public inspection in the same manner as other records reported under Section 1803.

Veh. C. §42001(a) sets the fines for vehicle code infractions at $100.00 for a first offense, $200.00 for a second infraction offense in a year, and $250.00 for a third or more infraction offense in a year. Add to these the usual penalty assessment of up to 160% of the fine.

In addition to a fine, under Veh. C. §13202.5(d)(4), the convicted defendant is subject to the mandatory one-year suspension, with a hardship restriction available

Veh. C. §13352.6 was added and Veh. C. §23502 amended by Stats. 2000, Chap. 1063, §2, to require a person over the age of 18 who is convicted of a violation of Veh. C. §23140 to attend the educational component of a first offender DUI Program (see page 10-107), unless there are prior drunk driving convictions. If that's the case, then the full first offender DUI Program is required.

The person's driving privilege is suspended until the program is completed. Since the statute became operative on January 1, 2001, it only applies to offenses committed after that date.