Driving without a license
Criminal Defense Lawyers Specializing in Driving without a license
Driving without a license offenses
Driving without a license Lawyers
What is legally understood as driving without a license?
A driver’s license is a legal document that certifies or verifies that the driver possesses skills or abilities that allow him/her to drive on public roads without causing dangerous situations. Therefore, driving on public roads is forbidden without this license.
The jurisprudence understands that driving without a license the following conducts:
Driving after losing the license’s validity for having lost all the points legally assigned.
Driving on public roads having been deprived of the driving license by a judicial or administrative decision.
Driving without ever having obtained this license.
These conduct are punishable and have the same penalty as driving without a license.
Driving without having never obtained a license
One of the most frequent conducts in the crime of driving without a license consists of driving without ever having obtained this license. This is an apparent crime since no document certifies that the driver has the necessary psychophysical capacities and theoretical and practical knowledge. Therefore, it may pose a danger to road safety and road users.
Regardless of whether the active subject knows how to drive or not, a driver’s license is necessary. Failure to have one can result in a fine of up to six thousand euros, in addition to other penalties.
Driving having lost all points.
In order to drive legally, the driver’s license must be valid and in force, that is, that the driver has not lost all the points on the license. The license has a number of points, which can be reduced until all of them are lost if the driver commits successive traffic offenses.
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Driving after having been deprived of a driving license by a court decision
In certain circumstances, such as after a crime against road safety, a penalty of deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles or mopeds may be imposed.
In such a situation, the driver’s license ceases to be valid, so the driver legally lacks a driver’s license for the period of time of the penalty.
Driving after having been deprived of a driving license by an administrative decision
As with judicial resolutions, the driving license can also lose its validity as a consequence of administrative infractions. An administrative resolution is defined as an act or document that compiles the decision of an administrative body and refers to an area of the same nature.
Suppose this administrative resolution regarding the validity of the driving license is unfavorable. In that case, the driver will not be authorized to drive motor vehicles or mopeds for the duration of this resolution.
Driving with an expired license
The driving license has a period of validity, which must be renewed to be able to drive. This ensures that the driver maintains the necessary psychophysical abilities and skills to drive on public roads without causing danger.
When the vehicle driver circulates with this expired license, either because he has forgotten to renew it or for any other reason, it will not be elevated to an offense of driving without a license; however, a severe administrative infraction will be imposed, which is usually around two hundred euros.
Driving with a license lower than that required for the type of vehicle.
There are different licenses or driving licenses depending on the type of motor vehicle or moped, as well as the cylinder capacity, power, and weight of each. Thus, each license certifies that the driver is qualified to drive a certain type of vehicle. Some also allow driving vehicles of lower power or cylinder capacity.
Currently, driving a vehicle with a different or lower license than the one required is not punishable as a crime since it is considered to entail a lower risk of driving than never having obtained a driving license. Therefore, it does not involve criminal punishment but an administrative sanction.
What is the penalty in Spain for driving without a license?
Now, we will analyze the penalties corresponding to the crime of driving without a license. The conducts constituting this crime are the following:
Driving without ever having obtained a driving license.
Driving after being deprived of a driving license by a judicial or administrative resolution.
To circulate on public roads having lost all the points of the license, and therefore, the validity of the same.
In these three cases, there is criminal liability, with the following penalties being imposed alternatively:
A prison sentence of three to six months.
A fine of twelve to twenty-four months.
Community service from thirty-one to ninety days.
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