Facilitating AUO

Many New Yorkers may not realize the legal consequences of letting someone with a suspended license drive a vehicle registered in their name. Well-intentioned friends or relatives could face a traffic infraction or criminal charge for facilitating Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle (AUO) without meaning to break the law. At Tilem & Associates, our Westchester County traffic ticket lawyers can provide legal guidance in facilitating AUO cases. We can negotiate on your behalf for a fair resolution or advocate for dismissal of a facilitating AUO charge.

Under the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, facilitating AUO means permitting a vehicle that is registered in your name to be driven on public roads by someone whom you know, or have reason to know, has lost their driving privileges. Depending on the circumstances and the degree of the offense, facilitating AUO may result in a traffic infraction, or possibly a felony charge.

Facilitating AUO in the third degree means allowing someone to drive a car registered in your name when you know, or have reason to know, that their driver license has been suspended or revoked. Facilitating AUO in the third degree is a traffic infraction. A conviction is punishable by a fine between $200 and $500 and/or imprisonment for a maximum of fifteen days.

The consequences of a facilitating AUO offense may be more severe if you or the driver have a history of suspended driving offenses. A dedicated traffic offense lawyer can help you navigate the charges you may be facing. Facilitating AUO in the second degree may be charged in three situations. One is if you let someone use a vehicle registered in your name when you know, or have reason to know, that the driver has had three or more separate driver license suspensions for failing to answer, appear, or pay a fine for a traffic violation. Two is if you have been convicted previously of a facilitating AUO offense and the conviction occurred within the preceding eighteen months. Finally, two or more prior facilitating AUO convictions within the past five years can result in a second degree facilitating AUO charge. For a second degree facilitating AUO offense, the motor vehicle must be one that is “for hire”, such as a taxi, limo, tow truck, bus, or other vehicle that meets the definition under the statute.

Facilitating aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree is a misdemeanor. If you are convicted of a second degree facilitating AUO offense under the first or second scenarios, the penalties may include a fine between $500 and $750, a maximum sixty-day sentence of imprisonment, and/or probation. The third or subsequent facilitating AUO conviction in five years is punishable by a fine between $500 and $1,000, imprisonment for a maximum period of 180 days, and/or probation. Registration of the vehicle that was used in committing the facilitating AUO offense will also be revoked by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles.

Facilitating AUO in the first degree carries the most serious penalties for a conviction. First degree facilitating AUO may be charged for allowing someone to drive a motor vehicle registered in your name, when you know, or have reason to know, that the driver has ten or more license suspensions on ten separate dates for failing to answer, appear, or pay a fine for a traffic violation. A first degree facilitating AUO offense only applies to vehicles for hire. Facilitating AUO in the first degree is a class E felony offense. If convicted, you may face a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, a prison sentence, and/or probation.

At Tilem & Associates, our Westchester County attorneys can help individuals resolve traffic infractions or criminal charges related to facilitating AUO. With a centrally located office in White Plains, we can serve residents of Bronx, Kings, Queens, Rockland, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, and Putnam Counties. Request a free consultation to discuss a traffic ticket or criminal case by calling Tilem & Associates at 877-377-8666 or contacting us online.