Brooklyn, NY – Councilman David G. Greenfield introduced a resolution in the City Council this week calling on the state legislature to no longer incarcerate drivers for not responding to traffic summonses such as tickets for moving violations. Under Councilman Greenfield’s proposal, drivers whose license was suspended solely due to failing to pay traffic summonses would face a fine, instead of the threat of jail time.
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Currently, a motorist who fails to pay a ticket for a moving violation faces the same type of criminal penalty as someone who commits serious crimes against society. Many New Yorkers innocently forget to respond to a summons because they have moved or simply don’t realize that their license will be suspended and they may be jailed if found driving as a result.
Councilman Greenfield introduced this resolution at Monday’s Stated Council meeting to bring the punishment in line with the actual offense after several constituents informed him they were jailed after having simply forgotten to pay a traffic ticket. In one case, a former city resident who had since moved abroad was pulled over by police while visiting Brooklyn for a family wedding. Because he had forgotten to respond to a nearly two-decade-old traffic ticket before moving, his license was suspended. As a result, when he was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction, the man was detained, handcuffed, arrested and spent the time that he should have been at the wedding in a prison holding cell.
“It struck me as a little extreme to drag someone from their car in handcuffs for what could easily have been a simple mistake like forgetting to respond to a ticket. I have heard of outrageous cases like parents being handcuffed and hauled off to a prison cell in front of their small children all because they forgot to respond to a ticket. Drivers should obey all traffic laws and pay when issued a ticket, but we must also recognize that forgetting to respond is not a criminal act,” said Councilman Greenfield.
In addition to individuals who honestly forgot to pay their ticket or were visiting at the time, Councilman Greenfield has heard from constituents who were incorrectly detained due to a simple paperwork mistake. The resolution introduced at yesterday’s Stated Council meeting recognizes that individuals who have their license suspended due to a serious violation such as driving while intoxicated should not be on the road and should be arrested. However, it seeks to draw a distinction between those who commit criminal acts that threaten public safety with those who simply did not pay less serious traffic summonses.
Right now, anyone who drives with a suspended license faces a punishment of up to $500 in fines and 30 days in jail and is immediately arrested if caught operating a motor vehicle in the City of New York. Councilman Greenfield’s resolution calls on the state to change the law so that individuals who are found to be driving with a suspended license solely due to failing to respond to traffic summonses would not be arrested and would instead face a fine.
“I have heard of too many cases where the punishment for forgetting to respond to a summons far exceeded the crime. It’s just not fair to arrest someone for forgetting to respond to a ticket. That’s why I am calling on the state to reform the vehicle and traffic law immediately,” concluded Councilman Greenfield.
My thoughts on this are that if someone is not responsible enought to attend to a summons for a moving violation he or she is not responsible enough to dfrive a motor vehicle. Letters are sent before a suspension to the address that the driver has listed on the license which is the address of record and should be where the driver actually lives and receives mail.
No reason to change the enforcement to benefit the irresponsible citiozens out there.
NO Way Jose, we dont need slews of ppl driving with suspended lic. David ur wrong on this
I’d go along with the non-arrest, provided that… part of the deal is immediate confiscation of the car.
And what happens if the person neglects to pay the additional fine? Give him another fine? It has to end somewhere. I have the best Idea. If someone it caught driving with a suspended license the first time, the officer should give him a ticket ans confiscate his license on the spot and hand him a receipt. this will surely force the person to then deal with the outstanding tickets and prevent him from driving in the meantime. This should only apply to NY residents. Foreigners who ignore our laws and think that they can continue driving in this state without reprocussions should still be arrested.
To #1 what are you? mr perfect? You never make a mistake? Some people get divorced, sick or any other happening that would cause them not to receive their mail or they can simply forget. Bottom line, is that the punishment should fit the crime and to jail someone for forgetting to answer a driving ticket is absurd! He didn’t hurt any other person by not answering a driving ticket. I think councilman greenfield is THE one person that came along in my lifetime living in brooklyn who has COMMON SENSE he shows it with most of his proposals. I wish him lots of luck he will need it to convince the others who don’t have much “sechel” and think that by putting on more silly regulations and pressure on the population will make things better. It does just the opposite it will just drive them out of the city.
David …remember the years of 70s and 80s(maybe you are too young to remember) but i do …When you got a parking ticket from a Brownie (those years ticket writers were wearing brown outfits and brown cars) we used to rip it up in front of the agent and throw it on the floor..When the city changed that scoflaws get towed and their car is kept hostage till you pay up it all changed….
Someone who has his license suspended has NO right of getting behind the wheel and operate a motor vechile…Once you change this to a traffic violation those drivers will take a chance and keep on driving…David ask any driver with NYS license ,almost every one has NO fear of speeding in New Jersey because its only money and NO points on your license. People who are careless about the law FEAR getting arrested or getting points on your license. Now what will the point system mean if it has no meaning. If someone gets points he fears suspension. if license is suspended he fears getting arrested…Those violators would gladly pay a fine and keep on driving….Maybe what u need to change legislation is..
NYS should keep on file email adresses and text messages and notify drivers along with a the mail
A number of years ago, I moved and informed the DMV of my move. My license was not changed so when I got pulled over, the officer put in my old address on the violation. When I sent in my plea of not guilty, I included a note noting my new address. They still sent the notice to the old address, and since it was 2years past my move the notice was not forwarded. My license was suspended and when I got the notice from DMV, who had my new address I resolved it. Till it got resolved, I would have been put behind bars.
Obviously this is not right.
To # 4
” If someone it caught driving with a suspended license the first time, the officer should give him a ticket ans confiscate his license on the spot and hand him a receipt. this will surely force the person to then deal with the outstanding tickets and prevent him from driving in the meantime. This should only apply to NY residents. “
You are only people in whole USA who drive like crazy maniacs, and this should apply only to NY residents?
Probably you meant USA citizens
I disagree with Councilman Greenfield. In my nearly 50 year driving career, I’ve received three tickets for moving violations. I responded to all three of those tickets, immediately. I did not throw the ticket away, or conveniently forget about them. In two of the cases, I paid the fines. In the third case, I went to the intersection, where the alleged violation occurred, and took numerous photos. The photos were presented to the prosecutor in court, where I was able to show that a “No right turn sign”, was hidden by tree branches, which the city which I live in, neglected to trim. As a result, the judge dismissed the case. My point is that I have (and so should the City of NY) O TOLERANCE, for those Yidden who think that they can get away with not paying a fine, by throwing their tickets away. Civic responsibility includes responding to all court summonses, expeditiously!
David again at his best!!
U r so right, its high time for this nasty law to change.
Hatzlocho Rabbeh!
Someone needs to give Councilman a brief lecture on why the current laws were enacted and how people responded to traffic tickets before stiffer laws came about. Basically, NY was a zoo where people spat at ticket agents and were not afraid of ripping tickets up. License suspensions and subsequent jail punishments were passed as laws ONLY because people did not respect the past system. You can’t change the entire system for a few people that genuinely forgot to pay their ticket 20 years ago. The vast majority of people that do not pay their tickets or have suspended licenses get it for a good reason. There are warnings and chances given by the state to rectify the situations before your license is suspended or before you get a warrant. It is the responsibility of drivers to be aware whether their license is active especially if they move overseas for a long time.
B”H
Why not just have system where they issue warning before arrest.
ie: 1st time someone is stopped on suspended license for unpaid ticket from x yrs ago they get a system noted warning (ie: documented in the DMV/police computer system)
This way the possible poor fellow knows he has to fix before driving again.
If he drives again we don’t have to feel sorry for him if he gets taken to jail on way to kids wedding or whatever.
DMV can change system to notify by Mail,Email,Text message….drivers should be able to log into their license number and update if there is any change in email or text.
David, you’ve really lost it this time…..Why the heck would you want careless drivers to be on the road. If they got the summons and didn’t respond to it as well as to the letters and know that they have a summons outstanding – and are risking getting pulled over one day, then the DESERVE to be treated like fellons – because they ARE fellons!!
Thanks again Mr. Greenfeld.
Finally a politician that does look to help us people!
publicpublishedfor all you nay sayers.
as someone who has a clean driving record to date but has had tickets in the past . I fully agree with David Greenfield. first of all I have had my licence suspended in the past due to my attorney making a scheduling error while I was travelling and missed my court date. had I been pulled over I would have tone to jail. and it would not have been due to my carelessness.
second of all there are many ways that they can make sure that people pay their fines other than arresting someone there should be. a system where the officer would follow you to the station and make you pay the full fine
To #23 -Naftalif-You cannot blame a scheduling error, and your resulting suspended driver’s license solely on your Attorney. Your Attorney was not the one who received the ticket. If you miss a court date, the court will send a written notice that your license has been suspended. Your defense that “I didn’t know my license was suspended” will not hold up in court. If you didn’t know, you should have known. The philosophy of blaming one’s Attorney for a missed court date, is similar to people brought before the IRS, who blame their Accountants. In the end, taxpayers who have signed their return are ultimately responsible, and not their Accountants. There are people in jail right now (i.e. Wesley Snipes), who are still blaming their Accountants for having been convicted of income tax evasion. People in our society are going to have to start taking responsbility for their own actions, and stop blaming others. A driver’s license is not a right, but a priviledge. If one abuses their driving priviledges (i.e. ignoring summonses, not paying fines, not showing up in court, repeated infractions for speeding, reckless and drunk driving, etc.), they deserve to have their licenses suspended!
I’m a safe driver, never got pulled over for violating driving laws. However, when my auto insurance was up for renewal I switched to a different company. The new company delayed submitting some paperwork to the DMV in the transition period, that resulted in a suspension of my registration, which I was never informed of by the DMV. One day (which I’ll never forget) and that day was visiting day, as I picked up my kids from various camps and was about park for a little family reunion, I passed the town of South Fallsburg, the cops there have those cameras that read license plates, and of course I was flagged as I passed one of those cops. I was pulled over, got arrested in front of all my kids, was held there till Monday morning. Long live Greenfield!!!
Correction.
You can’t be arrested for failing to pay your traffic tickets, you can only be arrested for driving after the DMV has suspended your license, and you ignore the suspension judgement.