60% of people behind the wheel shouldn't be

SANFORD - The statistics seem staggering. About 60 percent of the drivers on our streets and highways are driving without a license.

Some lost their driving privileges when a judge suspended or revoked their license, while others' licenses were automatically suspended when they failed to pay a traffic ticket and complete traffic school.

Generally, licenses are suspended for minor violations and revoked for more serious offenses by the courts. However, if a ticketed driver opts to ignore the citation, does not appear in court to plead his case or pay the fine and go to driver improvement school, his or her license is automatically suspended.

Although the drivers are notified by mail of the suspensions, no one goes looking for them. They are usually apprehended when stopped for traffic violations.

Clerk of the Circuit Court Maryanne Morse said law enforcement agencies in Seminole County issue about 50,000 tickets a year.

"We have one of the highest collection rates in the state," Morse said, "about 85 percent. But that leaves the other 15 percent in Seminole County who don't pay, say about 6,000. When you multiply that over two, three or more years, that means there are a lot of drivers with suspended licenses."

If a driver is stopped by a policeman for some traffic infraction, a computer check is conducted and many times they are arrested for driving while license is suspended/revoked, DWLSR in police shorthand. During stops, police also request current registration and proof of insurance. Failure to have those items can mean more tickets.

"What about the counties in the state that have a lower fine collection rate than we do?" Morse said.

A survey in Duval County a few years ago, showed more than two-thirds of the people arrested for traffic violations in Jacksonville each day shouldn't have been on the road in the first place. They did not have valid licenses. More than 70 percent of the people stopped for breaking traffic laws each day were driving with suspended or revoked licenses.

Jack Kaleita, misdemeanor division chief in State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's Sanford office said the penalties for DWLSR increase with the number of times you are convicted. The first conviction is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in the county jail, surcharges and a fine of $500. Two or more convictions makes it a first degree misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

He added someone driving with a suspended or revoked license who causes serious bodily harm in an accident can face a third degree felony charge.

Seminole County is somewhat unique in dealing with DWLSR cases due to an administrative order by Circuit Court Judge Alan A. Dickey when he was serving as county court judge, Morse explained.

Under state law, cases of individuals caught driving with suspended licenses less than four months from the date of suspension are handled as civil cases, people caught driving more than four months after the suspension date face criminal cases.

The administrative order issued by Dickey was intended to speed up the process, Morse said. It allowed those in the latter group 30 days to pay their ticket and get an active driver's license.

The only way drivers with suspended licenses are caught is when they are stopped for another infraction or are snagged at the periodic random checkpoints conducted by police checking driver's licenses and for vehicle safety.

Drivers seeking to reinstate their court-ordered suspended licenses are sometimes shocked to learn after paying court fines and other costs, they are still required to have six-months worth of pre-paid noncancelable insurance if their license was suspended for violating the Florida No-Fault Insurance law.

As of February, 1994, upon reinstatement of a "court-ordered suspension," the registered owner will have to have certification of insurance after the incident for a period of two years, said Helen G. Howard, regional administrator of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Winter Park.

Many drivers who are unable to afford several hundred dollars for the six-month premium may continue to drive without insurance or a license, violating the law and hoping not to get caught.

60% of people behind the wheel shouldn't be

SANFORD - The statistics seem staggering. About 60 percent of the drivers on our streets and highways are driving without a license.

Some lost their driving privileges when a judge suspended or revoked their license, while others' licenses were automatically suspended when they failed to pay a traffic ticket and complete traffic school.

Generally, licenses are suspended for minor violations and revoked for more serious offenses by the courts. However, if a ticketed driver opts to ignore the citation, does not appear in court to plead his case or pay the fine and go to driver improvement school, his or her license is automatically suspended.

Although the drivers are notified by mail of the suspensions, no one goes looking for them. They are usually apprehended when stopped for traffic violations.

Clerk of the Circuit Court Maryanne Morse said law enforcement agencies in Seminole County issue about 50,000 tickets a year.

"We have one of the highest collection rates in the state," Morse said, "about 85 percent. But that leaves the other 15 percent in Seminole County who don't pay, say about 6,000. When you multiply that over two, three or more years, that means there are a lot of drivers with suspended licenses."

If a driver is stopped by a policeman for some traffic infraction, a computer check is conducted and many times they are arrested for driving while license is suspended/revoked, DWLSR in police shorthand. During stops, police also request current registration and proof of insurance. Failure to have those items can mean more tickets.

"What about the counties in the state that have a lower fine collection rate than we do?" Morse said.

A survey in Duval County a few years ago, showed more than two-thirds of the people arrested for traffic violations in Jacksonville each day shouldn't have been on the road in the first place. They did not have valid licenses. More than 70 percent of the people stopped for breaking traffic laws each day were driving with suspended or revoked licenses.

Jack Kaleita, misdemeanor division chief in State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's Sanford office said the penalties for DWLSR increase with the number of times you are convicted. The first conviction is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in the county jail, surcharges and a fine of $500. Two or more convictions makes it a first degree misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

He added someone driving with a suspended or revoked license who causes serious bodily harm in an accident can face a third degree felony charge.

Seminole County is somewhat unique in dealing with DWLSR cases due to an administrative order by Circuit Court Judge Alan A. Dickey when he was serving as county court judge, Morse explained.

Under state law, cases of individuals caught driving with suspended licenses less than four months from the date of suspension are handled as civil cases, people caught driving more than four months after the suspension date face criminal cases.

The administrative order issued by Dickey was intended to speed up the process, Morse said. It allowed those in the latter group 30 days to pay their ticket and get an active driver's license.

The only way drivers with suspended licenses are caught is when they are stopped for another infraction or are snagged at the periodic random checkpoints conducted by police checking driver's licenses and for vehicle safety.

Drivers seeking to reinstate their court-ordered suspended licenses are sometimes shocked to learn after paying court fines and other costs, they are still required to have six-months worth of pre-paid noncancelable insurance if their license was suspended for violating the Florida No-Fault Insurance law.

As of February, 1994, upon reinstatement of a "court-ordered suspension," the registered owner will have to have certification of insurance after the incident for a period of two years, said Helen G. Howard, regional administrator of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Winter Park.

Many drivers who are unable to afford several hundred dollars for the six-month premium may continue to drive without insurance or a license, violating the law and hoping not to get caught.