Ask a Trooper
E-mail scrapbook@duluthnews.com or mail your question to Duluth News Tribune, Attn: Ask the State Trooper, 424 W. First St., Duluth, MN 55802. You may remain anonymous if you choose. Read past columns at duluthnewstribune.com.
Q: I was arrested for fourth-degree driving while intoxicated and was later informed by Driver and Vehicle Services that my license would be revoked for one year as a result. I'm confused because I had been advised by the arresting officer that the revocation period would be 90 days. I have had two prior DWI offenses on my record, both 11 years before (outside of 10 years) so I thought my prior offenses weren't relevant to my recent arrest. What's the deal?
A: If you read line three of your Notice and Order of Revocation form (under the second check-box section -- also found in MSS 169a.52 sub 4) it states: "For a person with one qualified prior impaired driving incident within the past 10 years, OR two qualified prior impaired driving incidents for a period of not less than one year ...". This means that once a person has two or more qualified priors on their record, regardless of when they occurred, any future DWI arrests will result in revocation of a minimum of one year.
DVS has verified that this interpretation is accurate. Many officers probably are of the belief that the revocation period would have been for 90 days under the described circumstances.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officers don't deal with all of the administrative DWI issues and
wouldn't necessarily know all of the applicable issues. I hope this clears it up for you, and thanks for asking. Remember to plan ahead not to drink and drive and always report those who do.
Q: This is a follow-up question to your recent article about people from other states moving to Minnesota and having 60 days to get their Minnesota driver's license. Does someone from another state moving here need to take a road test or just a written test? I have relatives moving here soon and they have a valid license from another state and want to know what they need to do, or what they can expect.
A: I spoke with a friend about this who is a driver's license examiner. He told me that someone moving here that has a valid license from another state has to take only a written test. Also, they are going to require another form of primary identification in addition to a driver's license (e.g., a passport or certified birth certificate). Depending on the situation, there may be other documentation required, too, but it does not seem to apply to your situation.
Sometime during the application process, the current status of the driver's license is checked in all states. If the person moving here from another state has any other state driver's license issues, like revocation, then Minnesota will require that be taken care of before allowing the application for a Minnesota driver's license to go through. If their license from the other state is expired for more than one year, then a road test will be required in addition to the written test. Go to dps.mn.gov and look at the online driver's manual for more details.
Thanks for asking, and I hope your relatives get through the process quickly and easily. Just a reminder that Minnesota law requires a driver's license to be in the driver's possession and officers do ask for it on traffic stops.
Sgt. Curt S. Mowers is a regional public information officer for the Minnesota State Patrol.
