|
"Around the Regions" is a special Web supplement to AAMVA's weekly e-newsletter, The Week in Review, that features news collected from AAMVA's four regions. |
 |
September 7, 2011
|
Tidbits
· Congratulations and welcome to new Region IV Committee members. Captain Darrin Grondel, Washington State Patrol, Vice-Chair of the Enforcement Committee. Mike Marando, California DMV, Vice-Chair of the PACE/CSD Committee, and Mark Froese, Nevada DMV, Vice-Chair of the Driver Committee.
· Gov. Jerry Brown has nixed a proposal that would have made penalties more pricey for California motorists caught using cell phones behind the wheel. Senate Bill 28 proposed upping the fine for drivers caught texting or talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device from $20 to $50 for the first offense. The final tab with local and state assessments could be up to $328 for first-time offenders. A second ticket could have cost has much as $528.
Decals for Cars with Young Drivers not Popular with Parents or Kids (New Jersey)
Fifteen months after New Jersey started requiring license-plate decals as part of its graduated driver license program, the stickers remain enormously unpopular. Interviews with teenagers and parents, as well as an informal survey show overwhelming opposition to that part of the law. Assemblyman Robert Schroeder hopes the information he is collecting and public sentiment will convince Attorney General Paula Dow to recommend repealing the decal law when her agency issues a report on the program due Oct. 7. Many parents put the decals on for their child’s road test but then remove them, even at the risk of a $100 fine for violations. One fear is that the decals could attract a pedophile who might wait for a teenage girl to get done working at a mall late at night, for example. Schroeder’s poll indicates half of the parents polled say they or their children never have decals on the cars when they drive. The MVC says 125,000 drivers have a graduated driver license in New Jersey, but only 610 violations were issued in 2010 for not having decals. Schroeder said the low number reflects low compliance. He also said police have told him they do not like enforcing the unpopular law. Opponents lost a legal challenge to the GDL law. In March 2010, a Superior Court judge rejected claims that the decals discriminated against teen drivers and said the state could require decals because driving is a privilege, not a right. An attorney general spokesman said that while the office is sensitive to the public’s concerns, it appears that the GDL program is saving lives. Division of Highway Traffic Safety statistics show the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers declined from 56,000 in 2004 to 43,000 in 2010. The number of fatal accidents involving teenage drivers declined from 67 in 2004 to 28 in 2010. The attorney general is waiting for two studies to be completed before issuing her report on the GDL system. Read the full story in the Press of Atlantic City.
FDOT, DHSMV Say Record Number of Floridians Are Buckling Up
A record number of Floridians are wearing their safety belts. Following the Click It or Ticket campaign, an observational survey of Florida vehicles was undertaken in June 2011. The survey’s results show an all-time high safety belt usage rate. Increases in 8 of 12 survey counties led Florida to an overall use rate of 88.1% compared to 87.4%t in 2010. Pickup truck drivers and their passengers continue to be among the lowest users. During the Click It or Ticket campaign from May 23 to June 5, law enforcement agencies stepped up patrols and traffic safety efforts while instituting a zero tolerance policy for people not buckled up. Read the DHSMV press release.
Florida's New Web Technology Drives You to Answers
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has launched new technology at www.FLHSMV.gov to make it easier for customers to find the answers to their questions about driver's license, vehicle registration or a traffic citation online without ever having to pick up a telephone. Right Now is the name of the smart, new, customer need-driven technology that directs the most frequently asked questions to the top of the page and helps customers navigate to the information they seek. If customers are unable to find the answers to their questions, the Web site guides them to a page, where they can choose to email a customer service representative or find the telephone number to the Customer Service Center and to other useful contacts. So where should customers go once they visit the Web site? On www.FLHSMV.gov a rotating button that reads, "Ask Us a Question" and "Click Here Right Now" will get customers started. FLHSMV encourages customers to check out the new Web feature to find out answers to questions. Read the DHSMV press release.
DMV Offers Transportation to Citizens with Disabilities to Obtain ID Cards (South Carolina)
The DMV met this week with the Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) and the Vocational Rehabilitation Department and others that support people with disabilities to determine how the agency could better serve these citizens that want to participate in State Identification Card Day on September 28, 2011. To address public concerns, SCDMV changed some transportation procedures to accommodate more citizens. The agency is now providing more options for persons who can be transported in an automobile. If they need assistance from a family member, friend or home health provider, the agency will provide transportation for those individuals as well. SCDMV will also transport persons who use collapsible wheelchairs or require the assistance of service animals. SCDHHS will authorize personal assistance services for up to 21,000 seniors and persons with disabilities who receive Medicaid home care services with getting an ID. This one time authorization includes providing rides and/or escorts to the DMV. Information about getting an ID will be distributed to Medicaid caregivers throughout the state and posted on the SCDHHS website. The Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) is working with its 32,000 individuals and families across the state to provide ID card information and assistance. To request transportation, citizens should call 1-855-STATE ID (1-855-782-8343). All citizens must have the appropriate documentation to participate in the program. Read the DMV press release.
20% of Fatal Crashes Involve Drivers with Suspended License (Ohio)
More than 12% of Ohio’s drivers have a suspended driver’s license, but they still contribute to 20% of the state’s fatal crashes, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. About 16,900 drivers in Ohio have been cited for driving under suspension just this year. On Sept. 2, a 1-year-old boy was hit and killed by a woman driving under suspension. Parents corralling a school bus of children watched as the incident unfolded. Randalla Wright, 28, was charged with failure to reinstate a license and driving under financial responsibility suspension. On Tuesday, Timothy Watson was sentenced to seven years in prison for the serious-injury accident he caused Feb. 14 while driving under suspension. An 11-month-old boy was thrown from the car Watson hit and critically injured. Nearly 1 million Ohio residents have a suspended license; many having multiple suspensions at a time — the average is 2.8 per driver. In Ohio there are 46 ways to have your license suspended, including driving and non-driving reasons — such as not filing an accident report, failing to pay child support, driving under the influence, and no auto insurance. Ohio also suspends your license for two years if you don’t show proof of insurance and it’s your third offense (90,000 of those suspensions are active). Sen. Peggy Lehner is researching possible legislation to curb the number by way of less stringent regulation, such as giving people more time to pay tickets, letting judges impose community service as an alternative and allowing drivers to show proof of insurance at their court appearance. Lehner formed a working group — made of BMV, attorney general’s office, public defender’s office and insurance company representatives— to review suspensions and the validity of them. One recommendation sent to Lehner: giving judges or child-support enforcement agencies the power to grant driving privileges to deadbeat parents for the purpose of looking for work or going to and from work. Another suggested change would let judges authorize limited driving privileges after 30 days. Lehner said she sees the group’s recommendations as easier “quick fixes.” She plans to wait to introduce legislation until she can review more reforms. There are other, more-controversial options. While Ohio has 302,000 license suspensions for drunken driving, another 116,000 licenses have been suspended automatically for drug offenses unrelated to driving. The federal government requires states to suspend your license if you’re convicted of a drug offense, but a state’s governor and legislature can opt out by certifying that they oppose such a law, something Ohio leaders have not done. Thirty-two states have opted out. Read the full story in the Oxford Press.
Trio Pleads Guilty in Document Fraud Case (California)
Three men, two Mexican nationals and one Honduran, have pled guilty to conspiracy to produce and transfer fraudulent immigration and identification documents. Ruben Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 44, Margarito Zavala-Barrera, 32, both of Mexico, and Noel Fernando Canales-Amador, 28, of Honduras, are scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 14. According to their plea agreements, between Dec. 21, 2010 and April 6, 2011, Gonzalez-Gonzalez sold fraudulent documents to customers, meeting them in public locations in the county. He reportedly took their pictures and collected biographical information, which he then passed on to either Zavala-Barrera or Canales-Amador to produce the requested documents. Gonzalez-Gonzalez reportedly charged about $80 for a set of documents that included a forged social security card and an alien registration card. This case is the product of an investigation by ICE, with assistance from the DMV. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Read the full story in The Porterville Recorder.
Legislature Passes First in Nation Protections for Car Buyers (California)
The California State Legislature passed a bill enacting comprehensive reforms that provide first in the nation protections for used car buyers, streamline the registration process for all cars, and save the state millions of dollars. Supported by a rare coalition of law enforcement, consumer and car industry advocates, Assembly Bill (AB) 1215 modernizes how cars are bought and registered in California. The bill: - Implements a first in the nation requirement that car dealers post a red sticker on the used cars they sell that are flagged in a federally mandated database - the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System - as a "junk," "salvage," or "flood" branded vehicles. It requires new car dealers to use electronic vehicle registration for new and used car sales starting next July; and - Reduces from 6 months to 90 days the time that consumers may legally drive without permanent license plates. Numerous benefits await California if this bill is signed into law: - Californians will have a first in the nation safeguard against unknowingly buying an unsafe, stolen or junk car; - Californians will get their new license plates in about a week compared to 2-6 months which, when installed, will help law enforcement better enforce our rules of the road; - The state will save over $9 million a year by reducing administrative costs at the DMV - nearly enough to restore budget cuts causing 70 state parks to close next year; and - California will have the nation's second lowest document processing charge, which dealers can negotiate with consumers for the volume of documents processed required in a vehicle sale. The bill now moves to Governor Brown for his signature or veto. Read the full story in the Van Nuys News Press.
Car Insurance by the Mile Debuts in California
California drivers who keep their cars in the garage will now be able to get discounts on auto insurance. The Department of Insurance gave companies the green light last year to charge customers based on the number of miles driven, with the goal of cutting back traffic and saving drivers money. Insurance carriers like the change, because it lets them get more information on driving habits and charge appropriately. Already, more than 80% of policyholders with the Auto Club of Southern California are using the new plans, which were first offered in February. The auto club expects that number to climb to more than 90%. State Farm has predicted that a quarter of their customers would choose the new option, saving the drivers $31 million. The new California plans are part of a growing trend among insurers to gather more data on individual customers’ driving habits. The mileage discounts are an incentive for the customers to share it. To encourage drivers to sign up for the mileage-tracking programs, insurance companies are offering discounts to those who enroll. The Auto Club of Southern California, for example, expected customers under the new system to save $68 per vehicle compared to those who stayed in the old plan. One big unanswered question about the new pricing scheme is whether it actually makes customers drive fewer miles. From an insurers’ standpoint, customers who get behind the wheel less often are less risky. In California, fewer drivers could also lead to fewer traffic jams and less air pollution. But insurers say it is still too early to tell what, if any, impact the mileage-based insurance rates will have on their customers’ driving decisions. Read the full story at Stateline.com.
Online Voter Registration Passes California Legislature
California's voters may soon be able to register online to vote just in time for the 2012 elections. By a 45-26 vote, the California Assembly recently approved legislation that claims to put in place stronger fraud safeguards than the current paper registration process. If signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, California would join nine other states that already allow online voter registration. Others are considering such a system as well. SB 397 would allow Californians to input their voter registration online, and the county elections office would use the voter's signature from the DMV to verify authenticity. The DMV signature could also be matched against the voter's signature on file at their polling place. At the moment, signatures at the polling place are compared to the paper registration signature, and it's claimed that this protocol allows for greater instances of fraud. The new system would allow for less fraud in that it would minimize the practice of individuals being paid to collect voter registration cards and send in fake names to either fulfill a certain quota or make more money. It is reported that the DMV opposes the bill because it would allow online voter registration ahead of completion of a new statewide voter registration database currently under development. VoteCal, the name of the database, isn't expected to be implemented until at least 2015. Read the full story at Independent Voter Network.
Panel Debates Stoned-Driving Threshold (Colorado)
The disagreement over what to do about the rising number of people in Colorado caught driving after using marijuana took center stage Wednesday, when members of a group charged with studying the issue presented three proposals. The presentations at a meeting of the drug-policy subcommittee of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice were the first step in a process that could lead to a new law during next year's legislative session. But the meeting mostly underscored how little consensus there is around the issue of driving stoned, which law enforcement officials fear is on the rise with the expansion of the state's medical-marijuana system. The debate centers on whether the state should adopt a law establishing a measurement of THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana — in the blood at which a driver automatically would be considered too stoned to drive. But the study group examining the issue deadlocked on how to handle it, leading to Wednesday's multipronged presentation. One group proposed reintroducing the THC limit — known, legally, as a "per se" standard — arguing that it is backed by research and would be a strong deterrent. Another group, though, said that the science on THC impairment is not settled and that the limits proposed were too low and would lead to the conviction of non-impaired drivers. A third proposal called for taking a wait-and-see approach. The drug-policy subcommittee is likely to decide next month what approach — if any — to recommend to the full justice commission, which would make a decision on its recommendation to lawmakers probably by November. Read the full story in the Denver Post.
Advocates Ready to Rally for Illegals' Licenses (New Mexico)
Lawmakers returning to the capital this week for a special session will be greeted by immigrant rights activists opposed to Gov. Susana Martinez' attempts to repeal a law that lets illegal immigrants get New Mexico driver's licenses. Martinez, fulfilling a campaign promise from 2010, is pressuring the Legislature to end New Mexico's policy of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Lawmakers rejected the plan earlier this year. The governor and other critics of the law contend it jeopardizes public safety and attracts illegal immigrants who fraudulently claim to live in the state only to get ID cards that make it easier to stay in the country. Advocates, however, said it allows more drivers to be insured in the state and helps law enforcement obtain needed safety data. They said the fraud cases Martinez often cites for reasons to change the law are isolated. A recent study by a New Mexico State University finance and business law professor found that allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses or requiring lawful residency identification has an "insignificant impact" on the percentage of uninsured drivers in the state. Since New Mexico's 2003 state law was enacted, more than 80,000 driver's licenses have gone to foreign nationals in the state. Officials have said the state doesn't know how many of those went to illegal immigrants because it doesn't ask the immigration status of license applicants. Four state legislators and a Silver City woman recently filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Martinez's administration from trying to verify whether immigrants who received a driver's license in New Mexico still live in the state. Read the full story in the Daily Times.
Traffic Cameras Have New Prey: Criminals
Those traffic cameras despised by so many drivers don't just nail speeders and red-light runners. They're helping police nab criminals. Police in Red Bank, Tenn., caught four suspects in a violent home invasion by reviewing images from a red-light camera near the victims' home. Four suspects tied up two victims and then ransacked the house, police say; one robber allegedly smashed his boot into a victim's face. Other camera-as-crime-fighter examples: After a 21-year-old college student in Tempe, Ariz., was dragged to her death when a drive-by purse snatcher caught the student's hands in the purse strings, police traced the car through red-light camera footage. In Washington state, a drunken driver who blamed the crash on the actions of the driver he had hit and killed was shown by a red-light camera to be lying. In a second Arizona case, police used camera images to clear a woman who had been accused of striking a woman and her 4-year-old daughter in Scottsdale. Traffic cameras are a popular law enforcement tool: 541 communities across the USA have red-light cameras, and more than 95 have speeding cameras. The traffic cameras incite strong feelings on both sides. Houston and Los Angeles acted to remove their cameras in recent weeks, while Tampa added them. As cameras have multiplied, so have crime-fighting opportunities. Read the full story in USA Today.
Did you know . . .
· Wheat is the most widely grown plant in the world. It has been cultivated for more than 7,000 years in every continent except Antarctica.
· In 2008, 87% of airline passengers made a phone call within 5 minutes of disembarking from the plane. Among those who did not make a phone call, 72% sent an SMS text message.
· Only one in six people who buy reading glasses off the shelf have the correct strength lenses.
· Indonesia consumes about 50% of the world production of cloves where cloves are combined with tobacco to make kretek cigarettes.