Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a huge risk to yourself and others. This act causes many accidents, injuries and deaths every year in New York. The state takes a hard stance towards drunk drivers, pursuing harsh penalties. While you most certainly will pay fines, fees and other costs associated with a DUI conviction and you may even go to jail, the main penalties are directly related to your driving rights.
The Department of Motor vehicles explains penalties for multiple DUI charges get more serious with each subsequent conviction. Even if you lose your license for some other reason, having multiple DUIs in your past will cause harsher penalties. For example, if you have three or four DUI convictions and you lose your license for another reason, you will lose your license for two additional years on top of whatever suspension you receive for the incident and you have a problem driver restriction on your license for two more years.
If you lose your license because of a DUI offense and have three or four prior convictions, you can expect to lose your license for at least five years and face a problem driver restriction for an additional five years. Do note that the state goes back 25 years to look for DUI convictions, so they do not even have to be recent.
If you have a serious offense related or not to a DUI and three or four priors, then your license is taken away for life. Once you get to five or more convictions, you also lose your license for life regardless of the reason for revocation. This information is for education and is not legal advice.