LEO's, Lawyers? Legal question

[The patriot]

A good friend of mine drives for a living. About 2 years ago he got a DWI.

He wants to move out of NJ, but would like to concider a state that wouldnt transfer NJ driving records to his new license. Does this even exist?

He is a responsible citizen, over a million accident free miles.

Thanks.

Eric

 

[illflem]

Eric, from what I understand his DWI will follow him to every state and every insurance company.

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by illflem

Eric, from what I understand his DWI will follow him to every state and every insurance company.

Yep, because of the old over-the-road trucker's practice of carrying multiple driver's licenses from any number of states, I understand the DOT maintains a national database that is a repository for all of the driving records from the individual states. Big Brother says, "There's nowhere to hide!"



Rusty

 

[GeneA]

In addition to that most states have reiciprosity statutes which allow for the transfer of traffic records on request. That is why they will release you with a ticket only for a traffic infraction even though you are from another state.

The good news is if you take care of the ticket promptly most state DMV's will not send the record to your home state as these DMV's are just buried in record keeping.

As for the DUI question, I am pretty sure when you apply for a new license, that state will go back to your previous state to check your traffic record.

 

[LSMITH]

Last I knew Arizona did not have reciprosity with any other state, might look into getting an Arizona license and cutting the trail, then he could start over. Some of the bigshots from the last company I worked at did exactly that. If your friend is truly a decent guy I hope he gets it straightened out. As horrible as driving drunk is some good and decent people get a DUI as states are down to . 08 making it very easy to be over the limit and not know. If you have anything to drink you better have someone to drive you.

 

[CJ Johansson]

It somewhat depends on whether he got his DWI when he had a CDL. With CDLs, there's a National Driver Records Center (I'm not sure if that's the official name) which they will check when he's getting his CDL in the new state. I'm not sure if a DWI prior to a CDL would show on this record, probably depends on the efficiency of the DMV of the state, but if it happened after he had his CDL, it almost certainly will be there and will follow him...



-cj

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by LSMITH

If your friend is truly a decent guy I hope he gets it straightened out. As horrible as driving drunk is some good and decent people get a DUI as states are down to . 08 making it very easy to be over the limit and not know. If you have anything to drink you better have someone to drive you.

Yea, he wasnt even driving. He was sitting in the car and it was running in the bar parking lot. It was cold out, and he was waiting for a cab. BUSTED! I think this is a . 08 state, and from what I understand, if you have a CDL the legal limit is cut in half, driving anything. That wasnt even brought up though.

Yes, he has a CDL. He's been an owner operator for almost 20 years now, no accidents etc. etc.



Thanks for the help guys.

Eric

 

[Bigsaint]

Eric, we are still a . 10 state. The lower BAC limit doesn't come into play unless he was operating/ intending to operate a CDL vehicle. The only way this would differ would be if he was below 21 YOA, then the BAC limit is . 01





Scott W.

 

[The Sequel]

AZ just recently dropped the limit to . 08. The CDL limit is . 04 but that only applies if you are operating the commercial vehicle at the time of the DUI. I don't know about the reciprocity, although I've seen many suspended or cancelled licenses because AZ MVD found out that the license was suspended in another state. This often does not get found out for sometime after issuing license.

 

[Briar Hopper]

Here's the info you wanted

For $19. 95 plus $2. 00 S & H, Quality Research, P. O. Box 192, Lincoln Park, MI 48146 will send you a booklet outlining which states do not share driving records, and how to get a new license, even after yours has been suspended.

I have no affiliation with them, simply thought I'd share the info.

Florida has liberal residency laws allowing you to get a license there, even if you physically live in another part of the country most of the year.

You could call American Home Base at 1-800-422-HOME. They are set up mostly to serve full-time RV'ers, by giving them a "residency" on paper. Florida is not one of the states that shares records.

As of last year, the states that did NOT share records are:

AR , CA , CT , DE , FL , ID , IL , KY , NY , UT , TN , WV , VA

Mail Boxes USA or one of those franchised private mail drop places will give you a street address. It also helps to have a co-operative friend living in one of the above mentioned states, who will let you use his address for mailing purposes to get around the residency requirements. A few bills or something mailed to you at that address will help. They usually ask for a phone bill as proof. Cell phone?

Keep your self-righteous flames to yourself. I'm not advocating any actions here, simply passing along interesting information.

Haven't had cause to use it myself, but at one time thought I might have to, with the EXTREMELY heavy-handed traffic enforcement that Kentucky is now suffering under.

 

[illflem]

Briar, I know you haven't checked it out but it seems like a scam to me. I know for a fact that CA shares records. A friend had a DUI in WA with a CA license, he tried to get a license in WA, OR & HI with no luck. He would have been required to take DUI classes in CA in order to be released for a license in the other states. Since this was impossible for him he ended up driving very carefully without a license for 5 years. As a side note his insurance company, State Farm, lowered his rates and congratulated him for being a good driver twice in this 5 year period. Seems that only checked that he had no tickets, whether he had a license or not didn't seem to matter.

 

[Briar Hopper]

not a scam

It does sound like it, illflem, but more and more states are starting to share records, so between the time I obtained that booklet, and now, a few more could have fallen... there was a slip included with the book warning that Ohio and Michigan had started sharing information. Just another clown making $$$ by selling information.

The Home Base business is not a scam, though, they are legal, and legit and provide a valuable service.

 

[rrl989]

I had a neighbor who somehow got her license suspended here in NY. On a trip to Florida, she somehow obtained a valid Florida DL. A few months later she was arrested by the local PD.

 

[Bigsaint]

FF1063 makes a good point that I forgot to add. It's one thing to move to another state and stay there with your new license, it's foolhearty at best to think that you can remain in your state with an out of state D. L and not get nabbed. If anyone plans on trying it, you had better register your vehicle in the same state as your drivers license. This MAY help you avoid a summons for driving while suspended, depends on who stops you and how they check your license. It's common practice for us to run out of state drivers for a license in NJ by their name and DOB, many come up as 'hits' for suspended Jersey D. L. 's. Regardless of their license status in another state, they still take the hit for driving while suspended in Jersey. A valid license is only valid in the state you are driving in, if your license is suspended in your home state and you get another license from another state, your home state license is the one that is looked upon for suspension, expiration, etc.



Scott W.

 

[The patriot]

Thanks for all the relpys.

Scott, he has his license back, and went to the classes required. He just wants to try to avoid the astrinomical insurance bills if possible.

He is planning to move out of state, and wouldnt change the license until he moves.

I suggested to him to:

1 If a SSN is optional, do not use it.

2 If his current NJ license had a middle name or initial, fill in the new license the opposite that his is currently.

DOB isnt realistic to change, nor legal.



Thanks again.

Eric

 

[Briar Hopper]

I agree, the main point is avoiding the way the insurance scam and system is stacked against you. Scott makes it clear about vehicle licensing too, that's an obvious point I forgot to mention.

It's illegal to do in Kentucky, simply because property taxes on vehicles are in the hundreds to thousands of dollars at registration time EACH YEAR, and people are trying to register them out of state to avoid the excessive taxation.

Having your vehicle owned or leased by an out of state corporation is the easiest (presumed legal) way to do it.