Received a Habitual Traffic Offender Notice?

Call Orlando HTO Lawyer Tracey Kagan right away to find out how to deal with this letter and save your drivers license. You can get a free legal consultation at her Orlando Criminal Defense Law Firm by calling (407) 849-9990.

Resolving Habitual Traffic Offender Status

Orlando HTO Attorney

In order to review your case, we need to see a copy of your driving record so we can determine which underlying convictions caused the five year driver license revocation. Act quickly because certain deadlines exist in these cases which can potentially block certain avenues of defense. No matter what you have been told, it may be possible to get your Florida driver’s license reinstated much sooner than you think if you hire a criminal traffic lawyer to go back to court to attack one of those three convictions that originally caused the HTO status through a post-conviction motion. If such a conviction is vacated and removed from your record, then the Bureau of Driver Improvement (BDI) with the Division of Driver Licenses at the DHSMV will lift the five year HTO revocation. Then you driver’s license would again become valid (assuming you had no other issues causing a suspension or revocation). Alternatively, in certain cases, your attorney can file a writ of certiorari to appeal the Florida DHSMV’s order of revocation.

Why am I a Habitual Traffic Offender?

Orlando Habitual Traffic Offender Attorneys

In order to be designated as habitual traffic offender in Florida, your driving record (maintained by the Florida DMV) must show you have accumulated certain convictions as explained below. In many of these cases, the HTO revocation results merely from three driving while license suspended civil or criminal cases, usually when the individual never spoke to a traffic lawyer about the options available before paying the ticket or entering a plea.

In other cases, the criminal defense attorney never told the client that the five year suspension would result from the plea. The problem is compounded by the fact that the criminal defense lawyers with the Public Defender’s Office are typically not allowed to fight the underlying offenses through post-conviction motions. Additionally, many lawyers do not understand all of the options available to their clients charged with driving while license suspended or revoked.

Florida Habitual Traffic Offender Laws

Habitual Traffic Offender Lawyers in Florida

Florida Statute Section 322.264 defines the phrase “habitual traffic offender” as a person whose driving record maintained by the DMV shows three serious driving offenses, including DUI or Driving While License suspended with or without knowledge, or the accumulation of 15 convictions for moving violations for which points may be accessed within a five (5) year period. Even if one of the prior convictions resulted in a suspension under a different provision of Florida Statutes, the prior conviction will still count toward a suspension or revocation under the Florida Habitual Traffic Offender Statute.

How Do I Get an HTO Hardship License?

Many people contacting The Law Offices of Tracy Kagan are interested in obtaining a hardship license so that they can drive to and from work. If you are seeking a hardship license after a Florida Habitual Traffic Offender Suspension or Revocation, you are not eligible at all during the first year beginning on the effective date that the license was suspended or revoke. That means that you can not drive for any reason. After one year, you can apply for a hardship license through the Administrative Review Office so that you can drive to and from work. Before you can obtain a hardship license you must complete the Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI) School unless alcohol was involved, and then you are required to complete a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) school (in certain cases).

Arrested for Driving While in HTO Status?

If you get caught driving on a suspended license while in habitual traffic offender status, then you may be guilty of committing a felony. This could mean serious jail time as well as hefty fines. According to Florida Statutes:

• Any person arrested for driving while under a Florida Habitual Traffic Offender revocation or suspension is guilty of a third degree felony punishable by a $5,000.00 fine and five years in Florida State Prison. See Florida Statutes §322.264 and §322.34(5).
• Even being arrested for the third time for driving while license suspended or revoke with knowledge is guilty of a third degree felony (if they have a prior forcible felony conviction) punishable by a $5,000.00 fine and five years in Florida State Prison. See Florida Statutes Sections §322.34(2). These offenses are serious and each new offense makes the problem worse. But you may be able to reverse the damage before it is too late.

For more information about an HTO Notice or an HTO Arrest, Call Orlando HTO Attorney Tracey Kagan at 407-849-9990. Attorney Kagan represents habitual traffic offenders throughout Central Florida including Orange County, Seminole County, Osceola County, Lake County, and Polk County.