Out-of-State Motorists Unaware they are Suspended in New York.

It happens often that an out-of-state driver does not know that their New York privileges are suspended. They get pulled over, a police officer runs their record, and they are arrested for driving with suspended privileges. Sometimes it is the motorist’s fault but often it is not the fault of the motorist.

Out-of-State Motorist Unaware of Driver Assessment Fee

Here is an example of a situation where a motorist can get arrested for no-fault of their own for driving with suspended New York privileges. Let us call our person Aaron. Mr. Aaron grew up in Long Island, New York, and receives his first driver’s license in New York when he is 17. When he is 27-years-old, he moves to New Jersey. Aaron switches his license from New York to New Jersey. After moving to New Jersey, he continues driving in New York. When Aaron is around 40 years old, he gets a couple of tickets in New York. In New York State, if you get 6 points or more in 18 months you have to pay a Driver Responsibility Assessment Fee. This is a separate fee that gets billed in the mail from the DMV. It is not part of the fine that is paid if you plead guilty or part of the fine that the judge imposes if you are found guilty.

The Driver Assessment Fee Processing Center is a separate entity within the DMV, and for whatever reason they use outdated information. When they send Aaron his bill for the Driver Assessment Fee, they will not send it to his New Jersey address but will send it to his old New York address. This is because New York creates a “phantom” driver license number for anyone with a ticket in New York. If you previously had a New York license, then New York will utilize your old New York driver license number. Therefore, the Driver Assessment Fee Processing Center will send the bill to the address associated with the New York driver license number, which is the old New York address. It does not matter that Aaron has a proper New Jersey license with his correct address. It does not matter if the court was sending court dates to the new and proper New Jersey address. The Driver Assessment Fee Processing Center is a separate entity and will send the bill to the old New York Address. Aaron hasn’t lived at his New York address in more than ten years. His parents also moved out. The person living there now has no idea what this bill is and throws it in the trash. Aaron does not pay the Driver Assessment Fee and gets his New York driving privileges suspended. Aaron did nothing wrong here and he changed his address properly. Unfortunately, people like Aaron are arrested or charged criminally on an almost daily basis in New York State for driving with suspended privileges.

Out of State Motorist Getting Pulled Over Multiple Times While Suspended

Here is another twist: Out-of-state drivers with suspensions in New York often get pulled over multiple times without the police officer even realizing that they were in fact suspended in New York. The reason for this is as follows: someone has a New York license and gets pulled over. The first thing the officer does is run their New York driver license number to see if they are suspended. Someone with a New Jersey license gets pulled over and the first thing the police officer does is run their NJ license to see if they are suspended. Our Aaron has his driving privileges suspended in New York, but his New Jersey license is perfectly clean because New Jersey does not suspend for failing to pay a New York driver assessment fee. So if the police officer just runs Aaron’s New Jersey license then Aaron will not run into any trouble. If a police officer wants to find out if Aaron has his privileges suspended in New York he can’t run his New Jersey license. The officer has to check Aaron in the New York database using Aaron’s name and date of birth. Once the police officer does that, Aaron will come up as suspended in New York. Most police officers do not bother doing as much (for various reasons). This is why Aaron can get pulled over numerous times in New York while being suspended in New York and avoid getting arrested. However, years later he can get arrested because this police officer was more diligent and ran Aaron’s name and date of birth through the New York database. When the police officer tells Aaron about the suspension, Aaron is incredulous. “How is that possible? I paid the fines in full and never got anything in the mail!” Also, “I got pulled over a bunch of times and no one told me anything!” All this is true, but Aaron’s excuses will fall on deaf ears and Aaron will likely get arrested or at least issued criminal charges.

Lawsuit

In 2020, a couple of attorneys tried to file a lawsuit against the DMV on behalf of some motorists that were caught up in the above-mentioned scenario. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in 2022, but not on its merits. The situation does appear ripe for another proper lawsuit.

Out Of State Motorist Clearing a New York Suspension

There are a few other scenarios that out-of-state drivers can get into trouble in New York, but the scenario described above is probably the most typical. If you are from out-of-state and suspended in New York, the Benjamin Goldman Law Office can help. We are a New York State traffic ticket defense firm that focuses on suspension clearing. Our firm has helped many out-of-state motorists clear up their New York suspensions on an expedited basis. We will get you the paperwork you need to be able to drive in New York. Our firm prioritizes suspension clearing because they are time sensitive. Our attorneys can also appear in court for you, which means you can get it all cleared up without leaving home. The Benjamin Goldman Law Office can appear in any New York court for you, from the eastern end of Long Island to New York City and from the North County region to the Buffalo region. Feel free to get in touch with us. Consultations are free.