Suspended License

[Ron-Solo]

Some of those electric scooters out now have decent range and speed, but won't cause the death and destruction should she lose control. Some even have enclosures that snap on for bad weather. They have bicycle type wheels and go anywhere.

One of the hardest things I ever had to do was convince my grandmother that it was no longer safe to drive. She knew it, but needed convincing, because she was very independent and never quit anything in life. She beat cancer five times (5 different types) and lived til she was 94.

It's time for this lady to quit driving.

[Heiko]

Aside from the obvious imprudence of her driving, the legal consequences of her driving while 14601 can be expensive, including impound fees if her car is towed, and she faces county jail time, not to mention the hassles of going to court.

CHAPTER 4. Violation of License Provisions [14600 - 14611]
( Chapter 4 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3. )


14601.

(a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at any time when that person’s driving privilege is suspended or revoked for reckless driving in violation of Section 23103, 23104, or 23105, any reason listed in subdivision (a) or (c) of Section 12806 authorizing the department to refuse to issue a license, negligent or incompetent operation of a motor vehicle as prescribed in subdivision (e) of Section 12809, or negligent operation as prescribed in Section 12810.5, if the person so driving has knowledge of the suspension or revocation. Knowledge shall be conclusively presumed if mailed notice has been given by the department to the person pursuant to Section 13106. The presumption established by this subdivision is a presumption affecting the burden of proof.

(b) A person convicted under this section shall be punished as follows:

(1) Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than five days or more than six months and by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(2) If the offense occurred within five years of a prior offense that resulted in a conviction of a violation of this section or Section 14601.1, 14601.2, or 14601.5, by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 10 days or more than one year and by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000).

(c) If the offense occurred within five years of a prior offense that resulted in a conviction of a violation of this section or Section 14601.1, 14601.2, or 14601.5, and is granted probation, the court shall impose as a condition of probation that the person be confined in a county jail for at least 10 days.

[Ron-Solo]

Thanks for your vision and assumptions, I'm not sure what I'd do without your advise.

She's not my wife, she's my neighbor. And I do drive her as much as possible, as her other friends do too. But she lives alone and doesn't want to bother people when she wants a ride to check her mail or get some ice cream. She wants to be independent within her own bounds of what she knows she is capable of. She's a good person caught in the system.

I'm a firm believer in, "some rules are to be broken", and she is a classic example. As well, I'm disappointed discretion is being taken away from our law enforcement personnel, judges and other public workers at an alarming rate. I do not think a cookie-cutter world serves anyone. It's why we pay good wages - for good decisions. And I'm willing to accept a few bad calls along the way to keep discretion something we trust our public employees with.

In my first post I asked to avoid the "irresponsibility" of driving on a suspended license. That word I used suggested I know how my question might come off to those who want to take the question beyond simply wanting to know the legal consequences. Take driving up with me in private, if you must, or start a new thread. Any scumbag worth his salt would not bother to even consider the consequences.

Well, you blew it. Your first question was reasonable, but when you didn't get the answer you were looking for you you start making stupid comments like the ones quoted above.

Someone who suffers from seizures has no business driving. PERIOD. Medication can "control" them to some degree, but they still happen. What happens when she turns the local market into a drive thru when she has a seizure while trying to park? Or the school bus is dropping off kids and her foot goes rigid on the gas pedal?

YOU DON'T GET IT. SHE HAS NO BUSINESS BEHIND THE WHEEL.

[billrd]

I agree. And any MAN worth his salt would consider them heavily.

So now we both know who we are.

Good luck.

True - it's the consequences of the results if she has a seizure that are important here NOT the results of responsibilities that result if she's caught.
This is a no brainer.
I don't take her to jail - The FIRST time. I may cite her or a written warning.
I don't impound the car if there is a responsible person that can drive the car and her home.
The DMV may REVOKE her license.

[71MUSTY]

.
The DMV may REVOKE her license.

Permanently if she gets sited for driving while suspended.

[baka]

Every few years a medication change is in order.

Both my wife and son have epilepsy and in my experience the only time they change the meds is when there has been a seizure or cluster of them.

FYI:
Driver Safety Information Lapses of Consciousness Disorders

[billrd]

Both my wife and son have epilepsy and in my experience the only time they change the meds is when there has been a seizure or cluster of them.

FYI:
Driver Safety Information Lapses of Consciousness Disorders

Very scary if they drive - hopefully they get some sort of warning. Years ago I had an "unknown viral infection of my balance center". Hit the floor with ZERO notice. Was hanging onto the floor. Only had the attack once but the vertigo never went completely away. If that happened while driving I have no idea what I would do.

[tyrist]

It's going to be a misdemeanor citation for driving on a suspended/revoked license. If she is the registered owner of the vehicle it's going away for 30 days. If somebody else is the registered owner and can get there before the tow truck I might let it go.

[retired]

First, she has to be "caught", as in a traffic stop. Something has to draw attention to her driving or vehicle. Let's hope it's not an accident re: diabetic blood sugar problem, which is common. Excluding that, yes, discretion is wide open, cite, park the car

Speaking as a retired leo, that is a wrong move. You let her park the car, then drive away to continue your duties. She waits for you to leave, then drives the car away (since you didn't mention the keys were put into the trunk or kept by the officer, we have to assume she still has them).

She gets into an accident and seriously hurts or kills someone. Besides that tragic occurrence, when the she blurts to the investigating leo that another leo let her park her car and told her not to drive, stand by to stand by. If that is found to be true, that officer and his/her dept. will be on the hook for the liability of the accident. Our unofficial policy was, beginning back in the early 80s, to take the car at the least. Common sense dictated that.

Personal experience. I go to my dr. for PT after one of my back surgeries. An hour passes and a nurse I've known for 17yrs. (lots of surgeries) asks me if I have a grey Tundra parked on the street. I told her the very fact she was asking was bad news and it was.

Turns out another patient en route to my dr., blacked out while driving his Ford Escort at 50mph going around a curve in the road. I had parked my less than a year old vehicle (12K miles) on the street. This was the first time in 7yrs. of going there that I did that, but the lot was filled.

To give him credit, he was the one who reported it to the dr.'s office and requested they call the police. I spoke to him outside while watching the leo take the report. He had knocked my truck about 15', but it was drivable.

He admitted while talking that this was the second time in 5yrs. that he had blacked out. He still had his license and when I asked his insurance company if they were going to report him to the DMV for a medical release and retest, they said no. They weren't concerned, but I was, so I did. Unfortunately, not being in le anymore, I had no way to obtain any info about the outcome.

I know if I had been in the truck. I would have been either dead, paralyzed or had my 5th back surgery. Also, due to the damage (bent frame amongst other things), my truck was now worth half of its $22K Kelly book value per the dealer I bought it from and the dealer at the body shop.

I would have most definitely cited her and taken the car. That's the discretion I and most leos would have done I believe You'd have been foolish not to IMHO.

[jeremiah12]

My grandfather reached a point when he could no longer judge distances and he was also experiencing other cognitive problems. He started driving at 9 when driver's licenses were not required. His first car was a Model T. He was the safest driver I have ever known. He had never been in an accident his entire life. He was 89 when this started.

I talked to him about it. He refused to listen. He had lived so long, survived the depression, worked since age 10 after dropping out of school, and was a Marine in WWII because he was stubborn, tough, and independent. So I did the hard thing and reported him to the DMV. The rest of the family was livid. It meant he would become more of a burden.

To me, it meant he would be safer and others would not get killed. BTW, my mother was the only one of his 3 daughters that could ever stand up to him and he respected her for that. He was not happy with me, but he respected what I did. Finally, I do not know what all the fuss was, I lived within a few miles of him and I went over 3 or 4 times a week. I was worried about him driving so I would park behind his car and see if he needed to go somewhere. Then, we might as well take my car. He was also a penny pincher and he would rather burn my gas than his.

Well, he had his date with DMV. After the test, he was restricted to daytime driving and no freeways. He had to be tested a year later and then he lost his license. It was better for all. He lived to the age of 94.

I have a neurological condition that can cause me to pass out under extreme conditions. I get warning signs hours before that happens. I am on medication that controls it. But during the period my neurologist was adjusting the meds to find the right mix and levels to control it, my wife did all the driving. Yes, I would now if something were going to happen with more than enough warning to pull over, but why chance it. My FIL was a firefighter and had too many stories of bad car accidents caused by people passing out. I was not going to be that person.

This is not one of those rules to break. Is any risk of her having a seizure while driving in a residential area and plowing her car into children playing outside worth it?

As mentioned earlier, get an electric scooter, it is cheaper than a car and then potential harm created if she has a seizure is much less.