When a Rochester driver is arrested for drinking and driving, he or she will usually have all driving privileges suspended at arraignment.

When this happens, it will be 30 days before the defendant is eligible for a pre-conviction conditional driver’s license – a delay that may prove disastrous for those who rely on a driver’s license to get to work or perform other necessities.

As a result, the court is authorized to provide the defendant with a hardship license to allow driving during this 30 day window.

If a hardship license is requested, a hearing – typically referred to as a Hardship Hearing – will be held to determine if the defendant is eligible.

A Hardship Hearing is held before the judge presiding over the drinking and driving charges.

The judge will determine whether the defendant meets the criteria necessary to establish that loss of all driving privileges for 30 days would impose an “extreme hardship.”

New York State law defines extreme hardship as the inability to obtain alternative means of travel to or from the defendant’s employment, to or from necessary medical treatment for the defendant or a member of the defendant’s household, or – if the defendant is a matriculating student enrolled in an accredited school, college or university – travel to or from this school, college or university, so longas such travel is necessary for the completion of the educational degree or certificate.

At the Hardship Hearing, the burden is on the defendant to prove extreme hardship, and the court may not rely solely upon the testimony of the defendant when determining that extreme hardship exists.

Instead, the defendant must present some additional evidence, such as proof that the defendant works at a location where there is no regular bus service, when seeking a hardship license.

It is important to be able to continue driving following a DWI arrest.

We can help you protect your driving privileges. Call us at 585-484-7432.