To develop more effective countermeasures for the detection/prosecution of suspended/revoked drivers who continue to drive, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to examine and document procedures used by the State of Florida for the purpose of detecting and prosecuting these violations. Florida was selected because for those States reporting arrests for this offense Florida's arrest rate was the highest by far. In reviewing Florida's system it became apparent that all disciplines in the system were functioning well. These were the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, clerks of the courts, State's attorneys (prosecutors), county court judges, the Supreme Court, and the law enforcement community. Further exploration revealed that rather than through some magic method in the detection process, it was the effectiveness of the total system that was attaining the desired results. The Florida Traffic Court Review Committee is the catalyst between the courts, clerks of courts, State's attorneys, and the Department. The other interagency function impacting the system is the Uniform Traffic Citation Program administered by the Division of Driver Licenses. This program provides integrity to the entire system. It assures excellent communication and contributes to the level of cooperation that results in an effective program. The contract called for a review of four additional States in AAMVA Region II. States selected, with the approval of Contract Technical Manager James Latchaw, were: Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia. These States were visited and it was found that they had excellent communications systems, but each lacked one or more of the elements of the Florida system. However, each of the States visited has strong points to build upon. All of the States visited expressed interest in working toward a total system, although this may require enabling legislation. The model program developed as part of this study follows the Florida system with added features to further improve it. In conclusion, a total system approach is an effective way to control the suspended/revoked driver while increasing the effect of countermeasures in related areas of accident prevention. The total system is attainable in each of the four States visited. In reviewing other studies and reference works on this issue it appears the total system concept is the only really effective and by far the most cost beneficial way to approach this problem. (Author/publisher)
Abstract