Despite Being Innocent of Driving Offense Woman’s License Is Suspended

New York State is home to over 11 million licensed drivers, almost 157,000 of them in Niagara County. Unfortunately, when a state has that many drivers, mix ups by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) are bound to happen. And that’s exactly what happened to one Niagara County woman.

She received a letter from the NY DMV notifying her that her license was suspended for six months “due to an alcohol- or drug-related offense.” But she had, in fact, never committed any traffic offense.

As she told reporters, not only does she not drink or use drugs while driving, but she has never even actually received a New York traffic ticket.

Fearing that she could be arrested for driving without a license, she checked with her local DMV office to find out what was going on. Instead of setting things straight, the office took her license, charged her $87 and issued her a restricted-use license that only allowed her to drive between work and home.

Certain that a mistake had been made, she asked a clerk to check the state records. The system contained no record of a trial or conviction for her.

But that was not the end of it.

In order get her name cleared, she had to pay $60 for an independent background check, and then contacted a local news organization with the story. Once her plight was publicized, things began to move more quickly. The DMV suddenly determined that someone had made a data entry mistake: her identification number had been incorrectly keyed into a records pipeline, generating the suspension notice.

No New York driver should have to suffer the same embarrassment or hassle of being wrongfully threatened with license suspension. If you are facing driver’s license suspension or revocation, speak with an experienced New York traffic defense attorney to learn more about how you can protect your driving rights.