Failure on the freedom to travel front

[David]

Ya gotta pick your battles.  I like to tell the newbies who join us that it is good to find an issue that you are particularly passionate about, and make that your issue, the other issues are great things to support others on. 

[FTL_Ian]

What does this mean for your "appointment" in Concord?  Is that still on?

[TackleTheWorld]

What does this mean for your "appointment" in Concord?  Is that still on?

Yes, the "hearing" was called right after I paid the DMV fines on my car.
Maybe they tasted blood cash and want more now.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I have heard that they have no authority to summon you to any kind of hearing.  You can command a hearing if they were suspending any license that you might have had, but, they can't.

[Pat McCotter]

 

Restoring driver's license is key to opening many doors

Posted: Jan. 21, 2009

They say driving is not a right; it's a privilege.

That sounds good on its face but the reality is some folks feel driving is a necessity, whether they have a driver's license or not. Former Milwaukee Municipal Court Judge James Gramling knows the type.

He's seen a lot of "outlaws" during his volunteer work for the Center for Driver's License Recovery and Employability, a program run by the nonprofit group Justice 2000 with the help of local court officials. Working out of an office at the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown, the center has helped hundreds of residents recover their driving privileges and reduce their court-ordered fines or penalties.

A recent report pointed to a number of positive results from the center's programs. Since 2007, it has helped about 800 residents with driver's license problems get back on the road to respectability. It's also a road back to gainful employment.

Gramling said his work with the Justice 2000 program had proven an unassailable fact: "Regardless of what you do, there's no particular way to stop someone from driving (if they want to). If they can get a car and learn to drive a car, they're going to drive."

In particular, that applies to low-income residents, some of whom have always maintained an outlaw mentality toward official authority. Gramling has met plenty of people in the program who long resisted dealing with their expired or revoked driver's license and insurance liability problems but continued to drive.

"Most times, they simply can't afford to pay the fines," he said. More than 90% of the people in the program qualified as low-income residents. "These policies have had a great impact on poor people."

I've personally known people who have driven without a valid driver's license for years. Many never get caught, which gives some of them an unreasonable sense of invulnerability. Many had nothing more than a bunch of unpaid parking tickets or traffic violations on their record, but left unattended those fines and penalties had grown out of control.

Driver's license issues haunt many young African-Americans and Hispanics in Milwaukee, but they impact young white people, too. A reduction of the number of driver education courses in Wisconsin high schools over the years has also played a part, said Gramling.

"Some young drivers learn to drive on their own but have never learned the rules of the road," he said.

Over the years, this issue has emerged as a major barrier for black males in search of jobs. During Milwaukee conferences on fatherhood the past few years, workshops dealing with helping fathers get their driver's licenses restored were among the better-attended sessions.

Gramling says local judges and some prosecutors have seen results by substituting community service for offenders in lieu of payment of fines and penalties. The key is helping government understand the benefits of getting all those driving outlaws to come in from out of the cold, and for outlaw drivers to make it a priority to get their records and licenses in order for the New Year.

Don't be afraid. It's not as painful as you think.

[Russell Kanning]

the drivers license is the most important tool for the thugs

[Puke]

Hmm, the words like respectability, outlaws, gainful employment, etc. shows a lot of BS social conditioning to make the reader think that someone without permission from Big Mommy to drive is the scum of the Earth.