Suspended or revoked licenses: New York drivers face challenges to get them reinstated

Raymond Line was on his way back from a doctor’s appointment when he was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign in the village of Head of the Harbor in 2012. During the stop, the police officer also discovered that his registration had lapsed.

Line, a cook, was worried about taking off work to go to village court because his finances were tight, so he never dealt with it. Fines accumulated, and eventually, his license was suspended.

At first, Line, 30, relied on friends for rides to work or would pay for a rideshare taxi, but the costs added up. Eventually, he began to drive to work and run errands, but he always felt anxious about driving with a suspended license, he said.

"I was super worried," said Line, of Farmingville. "Things build up. It’s a mess — tickets, courts and judges and who do I see?"

Finally, eight years later, a police officer pulled him over because his registration was set to expire. Then the officer noticed that his license was suspended, so he ticketed him. Line decided to clean up things in his life. He looked at his driver’s abstract and felt overwhelmed, he said.

Line’s failure to promptly resolve his case is all too common among people with suspended licenses, say lawyers who handle traffic cases. Because living and working on Long Island usually means getting around by car, drivers with suspended licenses often keep driving.

One in five tickets for unlicensed driving in New York State was issued on Long Island, according to a Newsday analysis of state Department of Motor Vehicles records. Then trying to restore a driver’s license can be confusing to many people.

"It just reaches a point for a lot of people where it’s overwhelming," said Brian A. Trodden, a criminal and traffic attorney in Smithtown. He handled Line’s case, which he called atypical for how long it went on.

Last year, Trodden helped Line navigate different courts and work out payment of his fines. Within weeks, his license was restored.

"It’s embarrassing to let everything go and have a mess of suspensions and tickets," Line said.

93 village courts

Because tickets may be issued in various jurisdictions, figuring out where to resolve them can be confusing, attorneys who deal with traffic issues say. State comptroller records show that there are 93 village courts on Long Island, as well as two city courts, traffic agencies and district courts.

Typically, when someone fails to appear in court to respond to a ticket, the court suspends that person's license, Trodden said.

Daniel B. Friedman, a criminal and traffic attorney in Westbury, said he’s had many clients who missed "minor situations" that ballooned into problems after being ignored or forgotten. Sometimes, letters notifying a person of a suspension are sent to the wrong address or misplaced.

"A lot of people miss tickets," he said.

In other cases, the barrier is financial because the fines and additional late fees can reach thousands of dollars. "It boils down to money a lot of times," Trodden said.

Common reasons for license suspension are a lapse in insurance, too many traffic tickets or a driving while intoxicated or while ability impaired, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles website.

When a license is suspended or revoked, the DMV sends a letter notifying the driver and outlining the steps needed to get it restored.

"The relicensing of motorists after a revocation is a traffic safety matter the Department takes very seriously," a DMV spokesman said in an email. "When a motorist has their license revoked or suspended, which may occur for a number of reasons, they are required to take appropriate action, which includes serving the suspension or revocation period, paying any applicable fees, and meeting any additional requirements. Additionally, an individual review of their driving record may be required before approval is granted."

Paying a fee

One of the first steps toward resolving a license suspension is to find out why it was suspended. To do that, a driver may go to the DMV website and use a personalized online portal known as MyDMV. To log into MyDMV, it’s necessary to type in a number on the back of the driver’s license. The driving record should come up and list the reason for the suspension.

Sometimes, a judge orders that a license be suspended when a person misses a court date. The order triggers a notice from the DMV. To get the license restored requires going to that court and typically paying a fee, Friedman said.

A license revocation results after a serious traffic offense, such as one or more DWIs; driving without insurance; failing a DMV road test; or a conviction of a serious traffic offense, according to the DMV website.

A revocation is for a definite period of time, Friedman said. A revocation means that the license has been canceled. To get it restored, the driver must first request approval from the DMV Driver Improvement Unit. The driver also may be required to take vision, written and road tests and pay a fee to get a new license, according to the DMV website.

A license suspension does not necessarily mean loss of insurance coverage, according to Robert Passmore, vice president of American Property Casualty Insurance Association, a trade group.

"Typically, the insurance follows the car," he said in an email. "So, the insurance would remain in force as long as premiums were paid. If the insurer finds out about the suspension, they may want to remove the driver from the policy. But they likely would not automatically cancel since there are often other drivers in the household."

A DMV spokesman said in an email that the department is currently modernizing its computer systems to "provide more effective, efficient and accessible services."

A suspension is typically for an indefinite period of time, he said. That means it does not end until the driver takes the steps needed to restore it, according to the DMV website.

The entire process of restoring a license is bewildering to many people, Friedman said.

"A lot of people end up coming to me because the entire DMV as far as I’m concerned, it’s not user-friendly. I used to like to say it is a black hole."