Road Law – November 2021
We are well into another football season. While we are not going to discuss teams or plays, this article is about getting around obstacles and situations that are impeding your ability to remain qualified to drive. We hope you can use this information to your benefit.
Q: I was involved in an accident several months ago that caused some property damage to a street light. I received a citation in the mail for “leaving the scene of an accident” and paid it because I wasn’t able to get back to court out of state. Shortly after paying the citation, I received a letter from my department of motor vehicles notifying me that my license was revoked. Can you help me?
A: Leaving the scene of an accident is one of the “major violations” that result in a one year disqualification of your CDL license and generally has a far-reaching effect on your longevity in the industry. Once a citation is paid, you have limited options, and the most common procedure is to file a motion to vacate the original conviction and reset the matter for another hearing.
The motion to vacate and reset the matter is generally the easier part of the equation. Where the hurdles come in are when we have to get involved with the department of motor vehicles to either try to prevent an upcoming suspension/disqualification/revocation, or to remove a conviction and correct your motor vehicle record.
Q: If you are successful and are able to have the matter reset and the charge dismissed or amended, can I go back to work?
A: Even if we are successful at the court level, we are not out of the woods until your driving record is corrected and you are reinstated by your licensing state.
This can be further complicated if we are dealing with DMVs from different states.
Q: You were able to get my case reset and dismissed with proof of restitution, but my DMV won’t correct my record. What’s the problem?
A: There are several issues at play here. First, many of the DMVs wrongly assume that anything dealing with a CDL holder is masking, and they will not correct or make a change to a reported conviction for a CDL holder. Second, unless the DMV receives notification electronically from the court or another DMV about a change in the record, they will not make a correction to the record.
The “end run” is a workaround that sometimes is successful when we can’t get things to work through the normal channels or a DMV is just being difficult to work with. In all reality, the court that reported to the DMV about the conviction should also be able to remove that conviction if it makes the request, without question.
The key to making this work is to make contact with a DMV representative that has the ability to correct your record and undo the bad things that are happening to you administratively. Once you have that contact, it is imperative that they will accept a file stamped original copy of the court order that vacates or dismisses the original conviction or will accept a copy via email or facsimile from the court directly. This effectively circumvents another DMV that is refusing to correct the record and transmit that correction to your DMV to make the change electronically. LL
Send any questions or comments regarding transportation law to: Jeff McConnell and James Mennella, Road Law, 3441 W. Memorial, Suite 4, Oklahoma City, OK 73134; call 405-242-2030, fax 888-588-8983; or contact them via RoadLaw.net.