Florida Statute Section 316.193(6)(a) states that a court may order a ten (10) day impoundment or immobilization of the vehicle the defendant was driving ,or in actual physical control of, when he/she was arrested for DUI or any other vehicle registered under the defendant’s name. The impoundment or immobilization of the vehicle should not run concurrent with the defendant’s prison sentence. Therefore, a defendant needs to wait until he/she has served their entire jail sentence before taking steps to impound or immobilize their vehicle. This does not mean you need to tow away your vehicle; there are less expensive ways to fulfill this requirement, such as booting your car.
However, the impound or immobilization order may be waived if you qualify within certain exceptions laid out in the Statute. The first two exceptions apply to individuals who own but were not operating the vehicle when the offense occurred. Impoundment or immobilization may be waived in these circumstances if the owner of the vehicle can prove that their vehicle was stolen or that they purchased the vehicle, from the defendant or another individual, after the offense occurred. The following exception applies when the vehicle subject to impoundment or immobilization is the only form of transportation for the family of the owner of the vehicle. Finally, the last exception applies when the defendant’s vehicle is operated solely by the employees of the defendant or any business owned by the defendant.
If any of these hardship exceptions apply to the vehicle involved in your DUIconviction, the Orlando attorneys at Longwell Lawyer will make sure to request a hearing and argue that the impoundment or immobilization of such vehicle should be dismissed.