|
Home Search |
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2005
in the Palatka Daily News
Several weeks ago, a man classified as a "habitual traffic offender" wrecked his car on State Road 100 in a crash that claimed the lives of two motorcyclists from Melrose.
Last week, three people were booked into the Putnam County Jail on separate charges of driving with a suspended license.
Wednesday afternoon, a Putnam County sheriff's deputy pulled a man over for speeding, only to arrest him for driving with a license revoked for habitual traffic offenses.
Florida's driving laws are intended to keep people with exceptionally bad records off the streets. So how do these people keep ending up on the road?
Losing your license
There are plenty of ways to get your driver's license taken away, according to Florida law. A license will be revoked following a conviction for:
- Murder or manslaughter resulting from a motor vehicle.
- A fourth DUI conviction.
- Committing a felony with a vehicle.
- Failure to stop and render aid after a crash resulting in injury or death (hit-and-run).
- Violation of prostitution laws involving a vehicle.
- Three charges of reckless driving in 12 months.
- A moving violation that resulted in death, injury or more than $500 in property damage.
Your license can also be temporarily suspended following an arrest on a drunk driving charge or a refusal to submit to a blood-alcohol content test.
Florida classifies its worst drivers as "habitual traffic offenders," after they have racked up the following types of convictions within five years:
- Three convictions on separate acts of manslaughter with a vehicle involved, DUI, felony with a vehicle involved, driving while license is suspended or revoked, failure to render aid in a crash resulting in injury or death, or;
- 15 moving violations for which "points" can be assigned.
A habitual offender convicted of driving with a suspended license is eligible for five years in prison, though the maximum penalty may not often be applied by judges.
"I'm not aware of many cases where people have been sentenced the maximum for that," said Florida Highway Patrol Capt. Brent Coates. "It's a decision the court makes."
Where your car goes
If you are arrested and found to be driving without a license, Coates said the fate of your car is up to the arresting officer, depending on what the license is suspended for. In some cases, a friend may be contacted to come drive the vehicle away from the scene, but in more serious situations, the car will be towed by a local wrecker company on the "rotation list" at the FHP headquarters.
"We use rotation so people can't call a friend to tow their car and later go get their vehicle back without showing proper identification," Coates said.
One of the towing companies on the rotation is Johnson's Towing in Palatka. Once FHP calls in a towing request, Manager Donald Johnson said a big part of his job is the paperwork involved in finding out whom the vehicle actually belongs to. But if you can prove the vehicle is yours and pay the bill for it, Johnson said he can't stop you from driving off in it.
"As long as it's your vehicle, it's your property, we don't enforce that part of it," Johnson said. "Half the time, they'll drive off and brave it."
Johnson said a towing bill could run anywhere from $100 to $600 depending on how far the vehicle is towed and how long it stays in the yard. If a car remains on his lot 37 days, he can sell it.
The only way Johnson can prevent traffic offenders from retrieving their vehicles is if law enforcement places a "hold" on the car as part of a criminal investigation.
"Then you won't even be able to go back there and look at it," Johnson said. "And that's a good thing."
Coates said a vehicle can be seized by the state in one particular circumstance: if your license has been suspended for a DUI and you are arrested on another DUI. In that case, the vehicle is forfeited and the state puts it up for public auction.
Back behind the wheel
Despite the numerous safeguards and mechanisms designed to keep dangerous drivers off the streets, someone else is booked into the Putnam County Jail for driving with a suspended license every week. Their main accomplices, Coates said, are often friends and family.
Florida law states that if you help someone whose license has been suspended get back on the streets, you are subject to arrest as well, on a second-degree misdemeanor. That even includes knowingly allowing them to operate your car.
"It's a good law and a good statute, but depending on the circumstances, it can be hard to enforce," Coates said.
In the past, Coates said the FHP has participated in Operation Roundup, in which troopers identify local habitual offenders and use surveillance to see if any are still driving. That program is temporarily inactive, Coates said.
"It's a state program, but it's based on manpower and availibility," Coates said. "We may have several hundred people in Putnam County that are habitual offenders."