Driver's License Suspension Archives - Page 6 of 18

Personal Narrative: Russell Hayes

During the early morning of January 2, 2019, Hayes was pulled over for his headlight and the officer informed him that his license was suspended. Hayes had no idea that his license was suspended and later found out that it was because he had unpaid tickets from 5 to 6 years ago.

Personal Narrative: Rick Venable

Rick Venable is currently homeless and sleeping in the woods in Jacksonville as a result of a spiral that started with driver's license suspension.

Personal Narrative: Matthew Holland

Matthew Holland is a 32 year old African-American male living in Spring Hill, FL. His license has been suspended for seven years due to unpaid criminal court debt that he owes dating back to convictions as an 18-year-old in 2006.

Personal Narrative: Celeste Sawyer

Celeste Sawyer is a single mother of five children living in Florida. Her driver’s license was suspended, because she accumulated $584 of traffic ticket debt.

Personal Narrative: Marlo Knapp

Knapp's license has been suspended since March of 2010 due to unpaid fines and fees that she owes in Escambia County totaling near $7,000 stemming from a mix of both traffic and criminal cases.

Personal Narrative: Sean Lewis

Sean Lewis spent his 36th birthday at the Escambia County Clerk’s Office trying to resolve his overdue court fines and fees so that he could get his driver’s license back.

Personal Narrative: Melanie Schneidau

Melanie Schneidau is a white, 45-year-old resident of South Carolina. As a mother, she tries her best to care for her children but she has not been able to provide basic healthcare for them for years due to her license suspension.

Maryland House Bill 1267: Prohibits driver’s license suspension for people on payment plans.

Maryland HB 1267 allows individuals who owe fines and fees to enter into a payment plan to avoid driver’s license suspension for nonpayment.

Tennessee HB 0839: Prevents suspension of a driver license for failure to pay […] if person is indigent or enters into payment plan.

This legislation requires Tennessee courts to conduct an ability to pay hearing before suspending a driver’s license for failure to pay fines and fees.

Florida SB 734: Penalties and fees; driver’s license suspensions

The bill provides that driver’s licenses may not be suspended for failure to pay fines and fees unless the person has the ability to pay but refuses to do so. It also provides that courts must provide alternatives to immediate payment of fines and fees for people who are indigent, such as payment plans and community service.