More than 185,000 North Carolina drivers with revoked licenses could see their privileges restored over the next two months.
The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said in a press release Monday that drivers whose licenses were revoked for failure to pay fines, penalties and court costs will be contacted about their right to apply to have the revocations removed.
The measure came about as part of a settlement in a class action lawsuit against the state in federal court. The suit was filed by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
One of the most common type of driver’s license suspension is for “Failure to Pay, according the N.C. Justice Center, a court advocacy group. This type of suspension occurs when a driver does not pay or otherwise resolve a traffic ticket by the deadline. A suspension for an unpaid traffic ticket(s) is indefinite, meaning that it stays in place until the amount owed is paid or otherwise resolved. When the court costs are paid, DMV must still collect a restoration fee before the driver can return to the road.
Under the court agreement, most if not all of those fees could be wiped away if a person can prove the debt was not paid due to financial hardship.
As part of the settlement, DMV will help fund an organization to build a website promoting the rule change, as well as supplying a list of free legal services to people with suspended licenses or who are facing suspension.
The driver must contact DMV or the courts for the application form.
For more information, go to ncdot.gov/dmv or www.resolvetrafficdebtNC.org.
