DMV help in New York?
December 9, 2005 9:57 AM   Subscribe

New York DMV Filter: A friend (really) let her car insurance lapse twice in the last three years, the second time you allow the insurance to lapse you must hand in your plates for a set amount of time (in her case a month)...

... So, has anyone had this exerience before? The dude at the DMV said she would not have her license suspended (I don't really believe this) if she didn't hand in the plates, but she could get a ticket any time she was pulled over. The NYS DMV website is opaque to say the least on this subject, but she really needs the car to commute to her job (which is far away from where she lives) and to help out her family. Does anyone know of an appeals process or a hardship dispensation or anything like that? Barring that, anyone care to recommend a lawyer in the New York area that might be able to help with this? Google is sorta overlawyered and none of them look all that good. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.
posted by Divine_Wino to Law & Government (10 answers total)
 
If I'm reading this correctly, the car's registration is suspended but not the driver's license for a second 30-day lapse in insurance. That would jibe with the DMV dude's statement. So it seems like if she can avoid getting pulled over for a month she should be okay.
posted by bac at 10:37 AM on December 9, 2005


Response by poster: Well, the DMV specifically states that if you allow your insurance to lapse twice within a three year span (the first time you just pay a big ole friggin' fine) you must turn in your plates for a period of time that matches the length of the lapse, that part is totally fact, it seems almost insanely punitive, although driving w/o insurance is not cool.

I suspect that this question is way too specific for anyone to be able to really answer it without having had the experience, but you never know...
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:39 AM on December 9, 2005


Response by poster: What action does the DMV take if I do not have insurance and I do not surrender my vehicle plates immediately?

If you do not have insurance coverage and you do not surrender your vehicle plates to the DMV, your registration and driver license are suspended indefinitely.

If you had a lapse in your insurance coverage and did not surrender your vehicle plates immediately, your registration is suspended for the same number of days that you did not have insurance coverage, but did hold the vehicle plates. If the time is more than 90 days, your driver license is also suspended for the same number of days as the registration. To reinstate your driver license, you must pay a termination fee of $25 when the suspension ends.


Thanks Bac, I got that from your link, which looks like it says that you just get a suspended registration for the month, anyone care to help me parse?
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:42 AM on December 9, 2005


You are correct, Divine_Wino. They'll suspend her registration for the length of time that she let her insurance lapse. She's avoiding the driver's license suspension because she didn't let her coverage lapse for 90 days. New York is pretty hardcore about liability insurance. She's lucky, actually. She could have been arrested and had her vehicle impounded.
posted by mewithoutyou at 11:50 AM on December 9, 2005


Response by poster: Thanks kiddos, I'm still trying to figure out what will happen if she doesn't turn in the plates, but merely drives without registration(which I will try to convince her not to do, but she is hardheaded), but once again that might be way too specific to answer here.

Thanks for your time.
posted by Divine_Wino at 12:09 PM on December 9, 2005


If her license is suspended, but she just can't use her main car, why not loan her a car for a month? Find someone with an old junker they don't drive regularly and let her 'rent' it for a month for $100 or something.

In the worst case, she could rent a car, but that would be pretty expensive.
posted by delmoi at 12:22 PM on December 9, 2005


Response by poster: Yeah I think that's the deal, find another car for a month...

Thanks again.
posted by Divine_Wino at 12:27 PM on December 9, 2005


Just a wag, but can it be driven over to CT or NJ and registered there? I registered a car in TX that had expired OK plates; they only looked at the title.
posted by rolypolyman at 1:23 PM on December 9, 2005


I'm still trying to figure out what will happen if she doesn't turn in the plates, but merely drives without registration

In the tri-state area, cops are running your plates (submitting them to the computerized database) all the time. Feel confident that if you've seen a cop, your plates just got run. Certain toll plazas run your plates by OCR; if they pick up a 'wanted' plate, they'll alert local police.

If you're doing something dumb like driving around in a car that is unregistered; driving with expired or revoked plates; or, worst, driving a car whose plates are registered to a car that doesn't match the make, model and color of the car they're bolted onto; you're going to get a ticket (or, in the latter case, probably go straight to jail.)
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:39 PM on December 11, 2005


it seems almost insanely punitive

Not at all. It sounds like they want you to turn in your plates the day your insurance lapses. When your insurance is reinstated, you get the plates back. Since you won't be driving the car without insurance anyway, this is hardly an inconvenience. And if you choose to relinquish your plates a week late, then the DMV will return them to you a week late. In either case you'll be without plates for the same number of days.
posted by ryanrs at 5:32 AM on December 12, 2005


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