Lawmakers call for alternatives to indefinite drivers' license suspensions

Ever-soaring traffic fines have created a new class of desperadoes in Pennsylvania.

Young drivers who fail to pay traffic fines are then slapped with indefinite drivers’ license suspensions, and they risk even higher fines when they get behind the wheel.

Make no mistake, this is a large class.

A pair of Western Pennsylvania lawmakers is promoting a measure to reform the penalties citing a Buhl Foundation study that found 172,006 Pennsylvania drivers age 16-24 received license suspensions between 2014 and 2017, including 124,650 whose licenses were suspended indefinitely.

Senate minority leader Jay Costa Jr., D-Forest Hills, and state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Connellsville, said they want to provide alternatives, including community service, for drivers who cannot afford to pay fines and fees imposed for routine traffic violations.

In a memo seeking co-sponsors for their bill, Costa and Stefano said the existing penalties create major barriers to employment, education and services such as health care, “essentially creating a debtors prison” for many young low-income drivers.

Westmoreland County Public Defender Wayne McGrew welcomed the proposed change.

“By the time they get to our office, these drivers have been picked up six times for driving under suspension, and we’re not talking hard core criminals. We’re talking about desperate people who need to drive and can’t afford to pay the fines to get their licenses returned,” McGrew said.

When that happens, they must make good on their fines and pay an additional license restoration fee of $100 or more depending upon the offense.

The Buhl Report concluded the law exacerbates “the vicious cycle of needing a license to get to a job but needing a job to pay the costs associated with getting a license or paying the fines resulting from driving without a license.”

Latrobe lawyer Mike Ferguson said the impact of indefinite license suspensions is especially harsh in rural and suburban communities, where there is no public transportation.

“I’m glad someone is seeing that this is a drag on the economy with people who can’t pay the fines. They are just ridiculous. It is very easy for legislators in Harrisburg who are trying to balance the budget to place higher costs and fines and fees on people charged with traffic violations or DUIs. There is no resistance. There is no lobbying group in Harrisburg saying you shouldn’t charge these fees. That’s why a $25 speeding ticket will cost you $100 or more,” Ferguson said.

He said the transient nature of young adults, who frequently move from apartments or college dorms, further aggravates the problem.

“Even if they have filed a change of address with the post office, a lot of times PennDOT or the magistrate will send notices to old addresses, and it doesn’t get forwarded if a driver has not changed the address with PennDOT,” Ferguson said.

The problem has been the unrelenting topic of a longstanding group email shared among attorneys with the PA Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Costa said he and Stefano have been working on the issue for some time with Fred Theiman and the Buhl Foundation.

“These kids get in these situations, and it spirals out of control. And that’s what we are trying to alleviate. I’m confident that there is bipartisan support for this,” Costa said.