New York DMV Issues: Failure to Answer a Ticket or Pay a Fine, Indefinite Suspensions, Fatal Traffic Crash
The DMV can make your life difficult in unexpected ways. There are many situations under which your driving privileges can be suspended or revoked, entirely aside from whether you face fines, civil liability, or criminal prosecution. A seasoned New York driving offense attorney can help you protect your driver’s license and otherwise walk you through your rights and your options. Read on to learn about license suspension and other DMV issues, and call an experienced New York driving offense attorney for help with driving-related offenses.
How Can an Indefinite Suspension Happen?
Several driving violations can lead to a suspension or revocation of your driver’s license. Generally, suspension means there is a set time during which you are not permitted to drive, and you may have to pay a suspension termination fee in order to reinstate your driving rights. Revocation, on the other hand, means that your driving privileges have been taken away indefinitely. You’ll need to reapply for your driving privilege at the end of the revocation period; the revocation might also be permanent. Revocation is often accompanied by DMV fines.
Certain actions can lead to a suspension that will carry on indefinitely until the problem leading to the suspension has been remedied. These include:
- Failure to respond to court
- Failure to pay a fine
- Failure to report an accident
- Letting your insurance lapse
- Failure to pay child support
In these circumstances, your license may be suspended until you fix the problem (pay the fine, respond to the court, fix your insurance, pay your child support, etc.). Other offenses can lead to a suspension for a set period, such as a conviction for a drug offense, conviction for an alcohol-related driving offense, racking up too many speeding violations within an 18-month period, fleeing the scene of an accident, or improper operation of a motor vehicle.
Fatal Traffic Accidents
Fatal traffic accidents can lead to a variety of consequences, including criminal, civil, and administrative. Aside from whether you face criminal prosecution for vehicular manslaughter or another offense, and whether you face civil liability from the estate or family of the accident victim, you may face administrative penalties from the DMV.
Any fatal crash will result in an investigation by the DMV. This inquiry is solely to determine whether the DMV should take an action against your driving privileges based on the accident; it is not related to your civil or criminal liability. Ironically, as the defendant, you could be sued by the family of the victim and decide to settle the case for a significant sum of money but still win your fatal accident hearing and face no DMV penalties.
The DMV will conduct a fatal accident hearing. The police officer who compiled the report on your accident may be present and will testify if so. The estate of the accident victim will also be invited, although they will not be called as a party or to testify. You may testify at your hearing.
The judge will ultimately decide whether to take any action against your license. The court can take no action, suspend your license for up to a year, or revoke your license.
Defend Against Hudson Valley Driving Offense Charges
If you have been charged with a driving offense or arrested for another crime in New York, call Dupée & Monroe, P.C., to get help from a dedicated New York criminal defense lawyer. From our offices in Goshen, we represent clients charged with all manner of criminal offenses in Orange County and throughout the Hudson Valley.
