2 Fast 2 Furious: What Happens When You Get Your License Revoked

I had a friend with a brand-new BMW. One of the fancy ones with the robot arms that pop out of the door to buckle your seatbelt, and the touch-screen, voice-activated dash. We were racing down the streets of Los Angeles, veering in and out of lanes as my friend, in true LA style, said “Phone. Call agent.”

Of course, being Los Angeles, I can’t tell you who this guy was (I think I had to sign an NDA just to get in the car), but I can tell you what happened next. He comes up to the intersection of Westwood and Santa Monica. Pulls into the right-turn lane and flips his turn signal like a good boy. Then, as soon as the light changes, he rockets straight and pulls ahead of all the other cars, leaving them in the dust as we sail towards Hollywood.

We sail for approximately 2.5 seconds. Then a cop car appears out of nowhere and we’re stuck idling next to this billboard advertising Orange is the New Black. Turns out it was a prescient omen, as doing 90 mph in a 30 zone was not his first speeding violation and this particular infraction gets my friend’s license revoked. I had to take the bus home. (Just kidding; no one takes the bus in Los Angeles.)

Sadly, men are more likely to experience the pain of a revoked license than our fairer-sex companions. Whether you’re a budding Vin Diesel in a brand-new red BMW or a fellow who has one too many and is too proud to ask for a ride, the odds are that you’re going to commit a driving violation at least once in your life. Rack up too many offenses – or one big one – and you get your license taken away.

Then what do you do? Well, if you’re like the majority of people in Los Angeles, you just keep driving without a license. There are so many cars on the road, the cops are never going to catch you, right? This is a bad idea, and not only for the obvious reasons. (Jail time.) Look, if you’re the kind of person who got his license revoked, you’re probably the kind of guy who needs a refresher course on how not to be an idiot while driving.

That’s where the SR22 comes in. The phrase “SR22” probably strikes more fear in most guys’ hearts than any other words except maybe “Chapter 11” and “paternity suit.” However, it’s not that bad, and it’s what you’ve gotta do to get back on the road.

SR22 is a type of vehicle insurance that essentially says “we, the insurance agents, trust that this particular gentleman is going to be the type of driver who is not going to cause any damage with his vehicle, because if he did, we would have to pay for it and we would not be happy.” It is one of the conditions of getting your license back, and you’re going to have to carry it around for at least a year.

No, SR22 insurance isn’t cheap, but there are affordable SR-22 insurance options available. They often come with the conditions that you take a driving class, obey the posted speed limit, and drive in a safe manner, like you should have been doing anyways.

Depending on your offense, you may even have to install an ignition lock breathalyzer on your car. These things only unlock your car ignition if you hit the legal blood alcohol levels. Blow high and you have to take the bus home. California courts in particular are known for attaching BAC ignition interlocks to license reinstatements.

And my hot-shot actor friend? The next time I see this guy, he’s carting around his very own SR22 card. He managed to skip the ignition breathalyzer because he had a good lawyer (one of the perks of being in Hollywood), but even the best lawyers can’t get your license reinstated without a few months spent in the company of the SR22.

That’s one of the basic facts about driving: famous or not, you have to follow the rules or they don’t let you on the road. Don’t be one of those guys that learns this the hard way.