Regional Virginia DUI Laws 

Regional Virginia DUI laws are important to understand. In terms of DUI charges, there are no set regional rules. Smaller, more rural jurisdictions tend to be stricter with DUIs, with pretrial supervision, and with some alcohol or substance abuse evaluation before trial. Even before a person is sentenced, they might get a pretrial supervision order from the court as part of the bond. The person would have to check in with the probation office to get a probation officer, and they drug test the person or bring the person into some ASAP or alcohol treatment.

DUIs are difficult if the person lives out of state because they must initiate the legal process in Virginia. A person driving through Virginia would have to stay in the state upon being charged with DUI to meet court officers and court obligations. If the person does not, then their bond could be revoked, and they could be locked up until the court date even for a simple first offense. A skilled Virginia DUI attorney can provide thorough assistance with driving under the influence.

National Driver Registry

The National Driver Registry is administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and they standardize the field sobriety tests for DUIs. The National Driver Registry conducts statistics within NHTSA that includes a driver database containing all the information on people who have revoked, suspended, cancelled, or denied licenses from people with offenses.

They maintain records that come from different states. They can recall information about a certain driver based on what that driver’s convictions are if they are in a state that sends the information to this national database. Then, if they do send it to the national database, they can then use that information to send to other states where somebody is trying to get a license.

For example, if a person is out of state and they have a conviction in Virginia, the state will send that information to the National Driver Registry. If the person moves to another state and they try to apply for a license, the other state is going to look the person up on the registry. Sometimes, rental car places look to see whether or not the person is eligible to rent a car. Insurance companies can also look at the registry to assess the eligibility of a person.

Regional DUI Laws in Virginia

Regional DUI laws in Virginia are harsher compared to the nearby jurisdictions. Nearby jurisdictions have more diversionary programs or pre-adjudication diversionary programs where a person can take action before their court date and then potentially drop charges. The charge may never get adjudicated for the person or they can check themselves into rehab. However, Virginia does not have these actions. When a person is charged in Virginia, jail time, fines, and license suspension is a normal consequence.

How a Local Attorney Can Help Out-of-State Drivers Facing DUI

An attorney can help explain to a person what they are facing and the likelihood of whether or not they will win at trial under Virginia laws and what complications may come with it. There is a lot of minutiae when it comes to litigating DUI cases in the state of Virginia that a person absolutely must have a local attorney for.

Beyond that, an out-of-state driver is going to need information about localities – what a local prosecutor does, how a local judge would behave, and what a jury would be likely to do in similar cases. A Virginia DUI lawyer can give an out-of-state driver local knowledge on the charge.

Contacting a Professional Lawyer

Regional Virginia DUI laws can be severe, talk to a lawyer today to see what you can do about your situation. An attorney can guide you through the legal process of a DUI, explaining the consequences and potential mitigation actions.