DUI with No Insurance in Ohio

If you have been arrested for a DUI and were uninsured in the Columbus, Ohio area, you will need an experienced Columbus DUI attorney due to the complexity of your legal situation. Contact the Ohio criminal defense attorneys of Luftman, Heck & Associates at (614) 500-3836 to discuss your legal situation today.

Driving under the influence, or operating a motor vehicle while impaired as the offense is known in Ohio, is a serious criminal offense with very serious penalties. This is particularly true if a motorist has previous DUI convictions, in which case the motorist faces increased consequences. Substantially complicating this scenario is if the motorist also fails to comply with Ohio’s laws requiring every motorist to carry automobile liability insurance and is pulled over, arrested and convicted of a DUI.

Ohio’s Minimum Financial Responsibility Requirements

Ohio, like most other states, has laws requiring that every motorist on its roads carry minimum amounts of financial protections in the event of an accident or injury while operating a vehicle. Ohio law requires drivers to carry some sort of insurance or a surety bond if the person is unable to purchase insurance to satisfy this obligation. Drivers must carry coverage for both injury to persons and coverage in the event property is damaged in an accident.

Most motorists comply with this law by carrying automobile liability insurance to help pay for injuries or property damage resulting from a car accident that a motorist may cause. Under Ohio law, every motorist must have an automobile liability insurance policy with coverage in certain minimum amounts. Those amounts include Bodily Injury Liability Coverage of $25,000 per person injured in any one accident and $50,000 for all persons injured in any one accident and Property Damage Liability Coverage of $25,000 for injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.

Violating Ohio’s motor vehicle insurance laws by driving without any automobile liability insurance alone can result in penalties for drivers who are pulled over and do not have proof of insurance to share with a police officer or state trooper. If this is the case, a driver has 30 days within which to present proof of insurance to the applicable court or else face a loss of his or her driving privileges. The length of the suspension for driving without the required insurance can range from a minimum of 90 days to 2 years. In addition to the loss of driving privileges, a driver also must pay a fee to reinstate his or her driver’s license after being pulled over for driving without insurance.

DUI Charge With No Insurance and Effects on Your Drivers License

If you have been pulled over and were driving without insurance in addition to having a blood alcohol content level over the Ohio legal limit of 0.08, then this factor will no doubt be considered by both the prosecutor as well as the sentencing judge when it comes to the decision to prosecute you for the DUI offense and what sentence you will receive if convicted.

This is certainly a complicated and very serious legal situation because the potential penalties associated with a DUI include a range of potential sentences. For instance, a first DUI carries with it the possibility of 3 days to 6 months in jail, fines between $375 to $1,075, criminal license suspension of 6 months to 3 years, and no possibility of obtaining limited driving privileges within 15 days of conviction. As you can see, this leaves a considerable amount of discretion for a judge in sentencing someone convicted of a DUI. In our experience, the sentencing judge is likely to treat someone harshly if he or she was also driving without insurance because the person was violating the law in two ways.

Avoid Consequences for Drunk Driving without a License

The experienced Columbus criminal defense attorneys of Luftman, Heck & Associates have represented several Ohio drivers who have found themselves in the position of driving without insurance in addition to being charged with a DUI. There are options available to you too. If you have been pulled over for, arrested or charged with a DUI in Columbus OH call the highly skilled Columbus DUI lawyers of Luftman, Heck & Associates today at (614) 500-3836 for a free and confidential consultation.

We can help.

Are you in trouble? Contact a Columbus DUI attorney today.

With the help of an experienced, competent Columbus DUI attorney, you can be assured of understanding all of your legal rights and options and know that your rights will be protected. The criminal defense team at Luftman, Heck & Associates protects rights of people charged with an OVI / DUI on a daily basis and would be honored to do so for you. To contact us, either call (614) 304-3404 or email advice@columbuscriminalattorney.com.