With roughly 7.6 million licensed drivers in the state of Ohio, an estimated 2.8 million license suspension citations were issued last year to nearly one million Ohio residents. Ohio traffic laws include 43 different types of driver's license suspensions for violations ranging from drunk driving to failure to pay child support. Many drivers with suspended licenses, however, continue to drive and some are involved in car accidents.
Earlier this summer a man with six active driver's license suspensions was involved in a fatal car accident. The tragic car accident occurred when the man was driving too fast in an SUV. He lost control of the vehicle and jumped the curb striking and killing a young 10-year-old girl. The fatal accident has raised questions related to license suspension laws and penalties in Ohio.
According to Ohio State Police, last year, nearly one million Ohio residents illegally operated a motor vehicle with a suspended driver's license. While reasons for driver's license suspension vary, many resulted from a driver's failure to produce proof of insurance when stopped by police.
Many drivers who receive one citation fail or are unable to pay fines and penalties associated with their license suspension. They often also fail to appear in court and therefore continue to accrue additional fines. Many of these drivers, however, avoid jail time and continue to drive.
In an effort to determine drivers who may be endangering others by driving with a suspended license, police officers are able to perform license plate scans to identify those motor vehicles registered to drivers with suspended licenses. These scans, however, are often not helpful as many suspended drivers will borrow cars registered to other individuals.
Laws surrounding driver's license suspension in Ohio continue to change. In recent years, penalties for drivers caught driving with suspended licenses have decreased. This, many safety advocates argue, is setting a dangerous precedent and resulting in more unnecessary traffic accidents.
Source: Norwalk Reflector, "Licenseless drivers aren't rare in Ohio," Mark McGregor and Michael Cooper, July 9, 2012