Suspended license in Texas finally getting noticed.

Wow. When Fatty first posted this I glanced at it and didn't give it a second thought. Who knew what would come of it.
What I don't get is how people can ignore the state's pretty obvious, underhanded money grab on this. Everyone seems intent on condemning Fatty for past opinions of his instead of the fact that these fees are ridiculous. Ignorance of the law is no excuse but come on, don't go hiding these stupid things from people.
And how someone can say that driving on an expired license is worse than running a red light or speeding is beyond me. So driving without a license (like if I ran to get some milk and forgot my wallet) is worse than running a red light and potentially killing someone?

 

Actually, I think a lot of us knew what would come out of it. And we're enjoying it.

 

I in no way think jail time for paying the surcharge late is warranted.

The fine is out of control as well - and way beyond what is stated on the DPS' site. Unless you had somehow accumulated about 80 points in 3 years.

If the state f'd up in sending you the surcharge, I wouldn't be surprised. I recently had a warrant issued for my arrest even though I paid my fine 2 days after it was issued. When I called them (HPD/Harris County courts, not DPS) to find out wtf had happened, they said that there had been a "clerical error" and that they could now see that I paid the fine in time & the warrant would be nixed.

They f up, they are civil servants - that's what they do. That said, even if your case is legit Fatty, what would happen everytime someone claimed "I never got the letter!" in court? Should the state then get a contract with FedEx and make sure everything fine notice, etc is confirmed delivered?

In your case, somehow the process got jacked & you - I'm guessing somehow this ties back to the DWI as far as the excessive fines - got raped for it. So I apologize for calling you out as a whiner. Yes, if the state did in fact do this, they did not stick to the procedure and YOU were wronged due to the state's PROCEDURAL frack-up.

I still disagree that the law - ON ITS FACE - is in any way a money grab or otherwise wrong IN SUBSTANCE.

Driving is a state-bestowed privilege. If you are a habitual offender when it comes to "driving," you pay the surcharge. If you commit certain "driving" violations, you pay the surcharge. Again, what is wrong with that? I will concede, again, that a better solution would be just to jack up the initial fine depending on the number of offenses or type of offense committed. I'm sure the accounting would get more complex for the state, but despite the same effect, it seems that would be more palatable to people.

The real money grab imadrummer, is the state raiding the surcharge coffers and robbing the trauma centers to throw this $ into the general fund. THAT's where the outrage should be focused.

 

Ignorance is no excuse for the law. Isn't that how it's said?

But we forgive you. Just don't add to the high court costs anymore, and they won't charge you for it either.

Seriously, it's easy to obey the laws in place. You don't even have to go in person. I've renewed, and changed addresses online the last three times. For a buck or two. Big deal... no really it is, considering the savings compared to your story.

Lesson, kids? Be responsible with your driving privileges. It'll cost you less in the long run.








Lesson #2. Don't cry about the law when you break it. Especially not here.

 

I guess the main way to avoid this BS surcharge is to always keep your correct address on you DL so the DPS doesn't mail fees and such to an old address -- correct?

 

You're not the law. You had nothing to do with it. It's gonna **** you the same as it's gonna **** anyone else.

 

You don't avoid the surcharge by keeping your address current - you can avoid the suspension of your license, possibly, by keeping the address current - DPS sends everything to your license address, even if all your court documents show you no longer live there. The USPS is told not to forward the letter. I, apparently, had one sent to my old address. Then, 5 months later, they sent a 'YOUR LICENSE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED. SEND US MONEY NOW.' letter to my NEW address.

Obviously, they could have done that in the first place. But they don't.

 

$1800 Fatty? Wow?

Just skip a night or two at a strip club and you will be back to even.



DD

 

So then the key is to make sure you renew your license before it expires -- correct?

I agree this sounds like BS - but i'm missing something here obviously by skimming this thread.

 

The thing to do, in my case, would have been to change the address on my DL when I moved. But now I can't do that without paying a $100 "reinstatement fee" (in addition to everything else) to DPS.

And yeah, you're probably missing a lot by skimming the thread - but the moral of the story is that the state of Texas is perfectly willing to plunder your bank account as soon as you give them a reason, and from that point forward will start making their own reasons to do so, and once they get you, there's no legal method available to stop them except giving them everything they want whenever they demand it.

 

That is is only moral of the story.

 

No, it's not. The point I'm making is that the law is written to extract money from people, and the execution of the law is conducted in a way to extract more money from people. I'm nowhere dodging responsibility. I'm saying the DRP, and most of the piddly laws the DPS has at its disposal, has nothing to do with driver safety and everything to do with extortion.

 

But you did initially dodge the responsibility that got you in to this mess? No? If you didn't then I understand.

I break the law on a daily basis. Many laws like drug laws I know are ridiculous. I think pot laws are in place only to make money. Making money is the only reason they exist. They are truly oppressive. But for me to come in here and complain about getting arrested and court costs for possession, while blaming the State and the Mayor of Houston is kind of silly.

 

That's not a good analogy. A better one would be if you got arrested for smoking pot, paid a huge fine, and then got a letter 4 months later saying you owed triple the amount of the fine to cover the 'administrative costs' of the Texas branch of the ATF, and that you were going to be put back in jail if you did not pay these costs in 1 week. Then, if you were put back in jail, you'd have to pay a 'reintroduction to society' fee when they let you out, and if you didn't pay this fee in 1 week you would be put back in jail. Also, the analogy would have to include the fact that this law was barely publicized, and the court never made mention of it to you during the original case. And, you have no recourse to the law in paying these fines because they're not officially considered fines - they're 'administrative costs'.

Yeah, it sucks that I didn't update my driver's license, but no one died because of it and I'm not running from anything. Most people would agree that I didn't cause anyone harm. But I'm paying more money for that than you'd be paying for minor possession.

 

Do you know how cops most often make drug arrests? they pull some guy over for speeding or something petty like that and then one thing leads to another. Do you think we should get all these cops off the streets and give them a new strategy?

 

How many years do you have to pay a surcharge for?