‘It’s really shocking,’ cries driver as 90k cars refused registration over automatic fines – they had no idea they owed | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
'It's really shocking,' cries driver as 90k cars refused registration over automatic fines – they had no idea they owed | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
TENS of thousands of drivers are blocked from registering their vehicles after speed camera companies assigned tickets to their cars.
A six-year-old road law has blocked drivers from re-registering their cars after speeding cameras claim they drove too fast in school zones.
Several drivers said they couldn't refute the claim and didn't get a citation in the mail.
"It's really shocking to see them just be able to force that upon you without any evidence whatsoever," Jeremy Brown, a Dodge Ram driver, told Atlanta-based Fox affiliate WAGA-TV.
"Honestly, it seems like a gimmick to get somebody just to pay it and let it alone."
Brown said he had to pay $150 in speeding fines to register his 2016 pickup.
Speed cameras alleged he had been caught speeding on two occassions.
However, the tickets were sent to an address he moved out of two years ago.
Another driver said he attempted to re-register his vehicle in April, but was confronted with a surprise $80 fee.
"I've got a car that's sitting in my driveway that I'm making a monthly payment on, that I'm maintaining full coverage insurance on," J. Scott Maddox, a Nissan Sentra owner, told the station.
"And yet I can't use the vehicle on the road."
Maddox said his girlfriend, who died last year, may have received a speeding ticket while driving the sedan.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "I don't know if Marcy received these things or not," Maddox said.
"Now, its my car. I have to do the responsible ownership things with my car, and the state won't let me do it because of a speeding ticket that belongs to a dead person."
The city of Maddox eventually dismissed Maddox's speeding ticket after the television station made public officials aware of his story.
However, the problems Maddox and Brown experienced highlight the broader challenge of entrusting enforcement duties to private entities.
The speeding ticket issues arise from a 2018 law passed by Georgia state lawmakers.
<p class="article__content--intro"> You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made </p> </div> </div> Lawmakers passed over speeding ticket enforcement near school zones to private companies.
A clause in the law allows the state to withhold vehicle registration until drivers pay up on their speeding fines.
So far, 90,141 drivers have been flagged for late payments by the State Department of Revenue, the television station found.
Several drivers said they never received the fees, which were sent by regular US mail.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> The extra costs at the DMV shocked the drivers.
"I've updated my tag and license and I'm clueless as to why they're sending these notices to an old address," Brown said.
"On top of that, I have all of my mail forwarded. I haven't seen a single notice come through."
The issue has inspired Augusta attorney John Bell to file two class action lawsuits, alleging the state turned over vehicle use rights to private companies.
"When you take away my title, my ability to drive my car and my right to sell it, without due process, that's an infringement," he told the station.
"It's taking property, just as though they just went out and picked up my car with a trailer and took it away."
Bell's first lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge, but he said he will file a motion to reconsider.
Because the enforcement is done by a private company, the speeding tickets cannot impact a driver's car insurance rates.
But the registration enforcement strategy limits fine collections exclusively to Georgia drivers.
"They may be mailing citations to out-of-state people, but I think the out-of-state people throw them in the trash can, at no risk," Bell said.
Drivers can head to the Department of Revenue's website and select "Vehicle Registration & Insurance Status" to check if their vehicle VIN has a speeding ticket lien.
More >> https://ift.tt/mSOG9nq Source: MAG NEWS
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