This DMV mess must be resolved
Published June 3, 2016
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, June 2, 2016.
What a horrible mess. Thousands of drivers across North Carolina — some in Forsyth County — have lost their licenses because of a backlog of court-action records that weren’t properly updated, the Journal’s Michael Hewlett reported last week.
Many of those drivers may have lost their licenses through no fault of their own. Whatever the number, it’s too many.
The backlog has been dealt with, according to DMV Commissioner Kelly Thomas, but an investigation by the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General is still pending. DMV officials on Wednesday directed drivers who believe there is a problem with their records to call them at 919-861-3807.
The DMV must act quickly. Anything less is unacceptable.
“We’ve had people lose their jobs over this,” Forsyth County Clerk of Court Susan Frye told the Journal.
As Hewlett explained, “When you get a citation for speeding, that information is automatically sent by police to the DMV. Then, if you miss a court date for that speeding ticket, the DMV is notified. You have a certain amount of time to schedule a new court date and take care of your speeding ticket. If you fail to do so, your driver’s license is revoked.
“The same thing happens if you plead guilty to a speeding ticket and fail to pay your fine and court costs within a certain amount of time.”
According to Frye, DMV wasn’t updating driver records to show when people had complied with everything, so drivers were being notified that their license had been revoked. The problem wasn’t discovered until these drivers called Frye and other clerks to complain.
Clerks have been told that a disgruntled DMV employee shredded some of the documents in question. DMV isn’t very anxious to discuss that.
Still left hanging is a $100 restoration fee that drivers might have to pay to recoup their licenses, even if the loss wasn’t their fault. The wronged drivers shouldn’t have to pay the fee.
The DMV must completely resolve this problem quickly.
