Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive in Greeley | When Your Designated Driver is Not Ok

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A man faces charges of Child Abuse and Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive after allowing his 10-year-old son to drive.

Let’s play a game called ‘good idea, bad idea.’ Is it a good idea or a bad idea to drink and drive? I think everyone would agree that is a bad idea. Is it a good idea or a bad idea to have a designated driver? Again, it’s a no-brainer. This is a good idea. Just one more question: Is it a good idea or a bad idea to allow your 10-year-old to be your designated driver? Definitely a bad idea and one drunk father learned this the hard way when he was charged with Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive, a traffic offense, and Child Abuse. According to the news report, a motorist called the police to report seeing a child driving a pick-up truck. The police located the vehicle and found the boy behind the wheel and his intoxicated father sitting in the passenger’s seat. The child was picked up by a family member and the man was charged with the traffic and misdemeanor offenses.

Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive in Weld County

Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive – C.R.S. 42-2-139 – is defined by Colorado law as:

No parent or guardian shall cause or knowingly permit his or her child or ward under the age of eighteen years to drive a motor vehicle upon any highway when such minor has not been issued a currently valid minor driver’s license or instruction permit or shall cause or knowingly permit such child or ward to drive a motor vehicle upon any highway in violation of the conditions, limitations, or restrictions contained in a license or permit which has been issued to such child or ward.

As a class B traffic infraction in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County, this crime is punishable with fines of $15 to $100.

Have you been charged with Child Abuse or Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!

Misdemeanor Child Abuse in Greeley

Child Abuse – C.R.S. 18-6-401 – is defined by Colorado law as:

A person commits child abuse if such person causes an injury to a child’s life or health, or permits a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health, or engages in a continued pattern of conduct that results in malnourishment, lack of proper medical care, cruel punishment, mistreatment, or an accumulation of injuries that ultimately results in the death of a child or serious bodily injury to a child.

Based on the definition above, the father would be charged with Child Abuse because he allowed his son to be in a situation that was potentially dangerous to his life. Children of this age are not known for their safe driving skills. In Child Abuse cases, when no injury occurs, it is charged as a misdemeanor in Greeley, Erie, and Evans. If the person acted knowingly or recklessly, the Child Abuse will be charged as a class 2 misdemeanor. If the person acted with criminal negligence, the Child Abuse will be charged as a class 3 misdemeanor.

Request a Free Consultation

If you or someone you love has been charged with Child Abuse or Permitting Unauthorized Minor to Drive, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 to set up a free consultation. Together, we can protect your future.

Image Credit: Pixabay – RobinTheHooded

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