Fairfax Alcohol Safety Action Program
If you are convicted of any type of DWI in Fairfax County, the judge will order you to complete the Alcohol Safety Action Program, also called ASAP. After a driving while intoxicated conviction, the court clerk will give you a date for your initial ASAP evaluation. This date can be moved if it is inconvenient, but if one has a restricted license,meaning they can only drive with certain restrictions, someone from ASAP will need to endorse the offender’s license within 15 days. The endorsement indicates that the individual has signed up for the program and met with a counselor.
Failure to receive endorsement done in a timely manner makes the restricted license invalid, and while one may be able to get the restricted license reinstated, it is an incredibly difficult process to do so. Should the offender drive on an invalid license anyways, they be in violation of probation and could be subjected to additional criminal charges. For Fairfax ASAP participants that live outside of the county, the program can be transferred to their local municipality or state. Nonetheless, the initial evaluation will still need to be completed in Fairfax, regardless of where the offender resides.
The Fairfax ASAP Program Experience
Typically, the Fairfax ASAP program will begin with an initial evaluation at the program offices, located close to the courthouse. Throughout the course of this lengthy interview, the ASAP workers will determine the appropriate level of alcohol education needed for each individual offender. Most often, the prescribed program calls for the individual to attend 10 two-hour classes held once a week. Except in cases of extreme emergency, attendance at class is mandatory. An offender’s failure to comply with ASAP rules can prompt the program staff to request a hearing in front of the judge that handed down the DWI sentence. Should the judge have reason to believe that the individual has been non-compliance, it is possible that the offender could be required to serve some or all of the suspended jail time.
The Fairfax ASAP program directs students to examine the decisions they’ve made which led them to get convicted of DWI. The course also requires participants to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and costs about $400, although other fees may apply.
