DRIVER’S LICENSE RESTORATION PART FOUR – POST HEARING
After the hearing is completed, there is nothing to do but wait for the results. There are no decisions made at the hearing. The hearing officer will explain he/she is taking the appeal under advisement and once a decision is reached, a written copy of the decision will be mailed. It can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to get a decision. When it arrives, and it announces you have won, it will be accompanied by instructions about getting an ignition interlock unit installed in your vehicle. The instructions will also include information about going to a Secretary of State branch to get a restricted license.
Michigan residents can only be granted a restricted license and they MUST install an ignition interlock unit (a breathalyzer unit) in the vehicle they will be driving and provide verification to the state it has been installed. You will pay for all the costs associated with the unit. By law, you MUST have this installed and functioning for at least ONE year. The year starts only after you have provided verification of its installation and you have received a valid restricted license. You can drive on this restricted license and ignition interlock as long as you wish. However, after one year has passed with you driving with the ignition interlock, you can go back to the DAAD and file a new appeal and request removal of the interlock and a full license.
There are 2 options for Restricted Licenses:
1. The first is just a general Restricted License. It allows you to drive back and forth to work, back and forth to school, back and forth to any necessary medical treatment, and back and forth to AA or other sobriety support group meetings. There are NO time limitations on this type of License, so a person on-call can be driving for work at any time during the 24 hour day, or simply decide to go to a 3 am AA meeting.
2. The second type of Restricted License is time-based. It allows you to drive for ANY reason during the allotted times, for example, something like 8 am to 8 pm
In order to go from the Restricted to a Full License, and in order to have the ignition interlock unit removed, you must go through another full License Appeal. This Appeal is identical to the first Appeal, EXCEPT that the person must also bring in what’s called a “Final Report” from the interlock company detailing that they’ve had no violations on the interlock since its installation, or detailing any such violations. Minor violations occur quite often, and are NOT a serious cause for concern. However, what’s called a “major violation” is a big deal, and will result in the Secretary of State scheduling an immediate Hearing to determine why the person’s License shouldn’t be completely revoked again.