ALBANY, NY - Thursday night NEWS10 ABC told you about the new legislation to be introduced that will make sure permanent revocation for multiple DWI offenders means for life.
While legislators work on changing the laws, the people dealing with the issues today say they're getting mixed messages from the DMV.
Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola says, "It's more complicated than ever." He says it's hard even for them to get a straight answer from higher ups.
The former DWI prosecutor, now Defense Attorney Tom Carr says there is a downside to that. He explains permanent revocation after multiple DWI's in New York actually only means five or eight years. If your convictions are spread out over a longer period of time than what the law counts now, you never lose your license at all.
Frank Merola says he has seen mandatory suspensions after some drunk driving offenses end up being just a few weeks if the offender completes a drinking driver program early.
NEWS10 ABC will talk with the commissioner of the DMV Barbara Fiala next week. We will bring you the answers after our interview and have a follow up with senators working on making permanent recovation after multiple DWI's.
NEWS10 ABC
