What is a Hardship Privilege?
During the 30 days before you are eligible for a conditional license, you may be eligible for a hardship privilege. To get such a privilege, the court must find that there is an “extreme hardship” in finding alternative means of travel to and from work, medical appointments, and/or school.
Note that the hardship privilege will not allow you to drive a commercial vehicle. You also won’t be able to drive to and from job sites, but only to and from your primary work location.
The finding of hardship will be based on certain considerations:
Whether public transportation is available
If public transportation is excessively time consuming or too expensive
Whether cab or taxi fare is too expensive
If a friend, family member, or co-worker can drive you
How Do I Apply for a Hardship Privilege?
After surrendering your license at arraignment, your criminal defense attorney will make a request for a hardship privilege. The judge may order a formal hearing to determine whether the hardship privilege is warranted. Alternatively, the judge may ask your attorney to make an oral application for the privilege, accepting the attorney’s representation as to what the evidence and testimony would show should a hearing be held.
At the hearing, you will likely testify about the circumstances of your commute and the alternative options you researched. You should also have the following proof with you:
A document showing your home address, if the address on your license isn’t correct
A document showing your work address
Proof of salary
Information on bus travel, with pricing
Information on train travel, with pricing
Pricing on cab or taxi fare
Also at the hearing, you will need to show that you can’t carpool with a co-worker. Further, you must not have a friend or family member who can drive you to work or school. You will also need an independent witness who can corroborate your traveling circumstances.
The hardship license may only be granted to allow a driver to drive to and from:
Home;
Work; and
Medical care for them or their immediate family members.
The statute requires an “extreme hardship.”
Accordingly, if the defendant’s place of work, school or medical is easily accessible (or close to home) or there is additional transportation available (like public transportation or another licensed driver in the home), a hardship license will not be granted.
Moreover, the hardship license permits a driver only to drive to and from his or her “principal place of employment”. A driver will not be given an open ended license to drive to multiple locations during the day (such as frequently occurs with construction workers or medical personnel who drive to and from multiple facilities during the day).
If it can be shown at the hardship hearing that there are no licensed drivers in a person’s home who could drive you, and public transportation is not easily available or is extremely expensive and beyond a person’s means, a hardship license may be granted.
A person charged with driving while intoxicated is not eligible for a hardship license if he has a prior DWI conviction within the preceding five years or where he has refused to take a breathalyzer or a chemical test.
A hardship hearing must be conducted within three days of arraignment under New York State Law. No exceptions may be made to this three day requirement. The three day requirement for obtaining a hardship license typically presents problems for drivers who appear in court for the first time without a DWI lawyer. Accordingly, it is imperative that a driver speak to a lawyer immediately after their DWI arrest.
A defendant’s testimony alone is insufficient at a hardship hearing. A person must bring to court with them a family member, friend or a co-worker who will corroborate their story of “extreme hardship” in open court and under oath administered by a judge.