What Every Driver Must Know
Chapter 2: Your Driving Record
15
Consuming even one drink can impair your ability to
drive, slow your reaction time, dull your concentration
and cause visual problems. Many people mistakenly
believe that coffee, a cold shower, exercise or fresh
air can sober them up. The only thing that sobers you
up is time.
It is best to never drink and drive. Select a designated
driver ahead of time who is not going to drink. You
also can ask someone else to give you a ride, call
a taxi, use public
transportation or seek
other assistance.
If someone you know
has been drinking
or using drugs, do
not let them drive.
Find a designated
driver, call a taxi or insist that the person use public
transportation. Never ride with anyone who has
been drinking or using drugs. If necessary, take away
a person’s car keys and offer them a place to sleep.
Be sure drivers are completely sober before they get
behind the wheel.
Michigan law requires driver’s license suspensions for drug
convictions, even if you were not driving at the time of the
offense. Even the
possession, manufacture
or distribution of drugs
may result in a driver’s
license suspension. If
there are no prior drug
violations, your driver’s
license is suspended for
six months.
A restricted license will not be issued during the rst
30 days of the suspension. One or more prior drug
convictions in seven years means your driver’s license
will be suspended for one year, and a restricted
license will not be issued during the rst 60 days of
the suspension. The driver’s license reinstatement fee
is $125. This fee is separate from the reinstatement
fee required for any other driving activity.
Marijuana is gaining acceptance as having
legitimate medicinal applications and as a
recreational drug, as evidenced by trends in state
laws permitting its use. Although marijuana may
be legal for medicinal or recreational use in some
states, it is still not legal, safe or wise to operate a
motor vehicle while impaired by marijuana since it
tends to distort your perception of time, space and
speed.
The Michigan Ofce of Highway Safety Planning
reports that in Michigan it is legal to:
• Transport 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana if you
are age 21 or older. Not more than 15 grams of
marijuana may be in the form of a marijuana
concentrate.
But it is illegal to:
• Operate, navigate, or be in physical control of
any motor vehicle, aircraft, snowmobile, off-road
recreational vehicle, or motorboat while under
the inuence of marijuana.
• Consume marijuana while operating,
navigating, or being in physical control of any
motor vehicle, aircraft, snowmobile, off-road
recreational vehicle, or motorboat. Drivers and
their passengers are prohibited from smoking
marijuana within the passenger area of a vehicle
upon a public way.
• Transport marijuana into Canada.
Law enforcement look for impairment based
on driving, personal observations of the driver,
and how a driver performs on standardized and
nonstandardized eld sobriety tests. A police ofcer
may request a chemical test if circumstances
indicate one is warranted. Refusing to submit to
a chemical test will result in a license suspension
pursuant to Michigan’s implied consent law. Under
this law, all drivers are considered to have given
consent to the test when they apply for and renew
their driver’s license.
The penalties for operating under the inuence of
marijuana are the same as operating under the
inuence of alcohol. These penalties can include up
to 93 days in jail, up to a $500 ne, license suspension,
six points on a person’s driving record, and more.
There are heightened penalties if a driver has minors
in the vehicle.
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