When I moved to DC from Virginia two years ago, I did exactly what I new resident is supposed to do: I got my car inspected, and then went to the DMV to both register my vehicle and get a license.When I got my DC license, I surrendered my Virginia license (as required by law). At this point, the DC DMV is supposed to inform the Virginia DMV that I've surrendered my Virginia license. It even says so on their website. But that didn't happen, as a DMV staffer forgot.So, Virginia still had me in their system as an active driver. But soon, my no-longer-existent Virginia license expired. As did my Virginia car registration. As did my Virginia car insurance. So, the State of Virginia had me in their system as an active driver with no license and an uninsured, unregistered car. Needless to say, that's a problem.So, when pulled over for speeding in Virginia, the police officer kindly asked (after I showed him my active DC license and DC registration) if I was the same person who once lived in Alexandria, VA. At that point, he informed me that, despite being a legally licensed driver in DC, my privlege to operate a motor vehicle in the state of Virginia had been revoked. Although he admitted that it was likely a bureaucratic error, he had no choice but to force me to abandon my vehicle because of what the "computer said." This was, as you would say, a Rule That Must Be Followed No Matter What. He informed me that, had I not been so polite, he would have been forced to cuff me and have my vehicle impounded. I was, after all, operating a vehicle without a license.When I returned to my office (via an expensive taxi ride), I called the Virginia DMV -- and as soon as I faxed over my DC registration, they fixed the error. Nonetheless, I still had to show up to court a month later, as technically, I was arrested for operating without a license. The judge dropped all charges.I can't wait for the government to take over our healthcare system.
« Healthcare: the chicken problem is the egg problem | Main | Pigeons on the pill » More motor madness13 Aug 2008 12:48 pm
David White of Inside Washington Weekly sends along an email proving that Pennsylvania isn't the only state capable of wild illogic:
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this is the problem with states' right. If we had national drivers licenses and registration, y'all wouldn't have these problems. It's why health care shouldn't be left to the states. Just saying.
Last time I went to the dentist, my private insurance company messed up the payment and I was forced to pay the dentist out of pocket. Now I am fighting with them to fix their error and reimburse me. I can't wait for government to take over health care!
I'm sorry, I know its your left arm that is gangrene, but the computer says that I need to remove your right arm.
Last time I went to the dentist, my private insurance company messed up the payment and I was forced to pay the dentist out of pocket. Now I am fighting with them to fix their error and reimburse me. I can't wait for government to take over health care!
After nearly 20 years active military service, I can tell you to never assume that a government worker did the job you asked. Always, always follow up, even on the most simplest of tasks, especially if failure to do so on the part of the bureaucrat can cost you dearly, whether in pay or your freedom.
I have found that when it comes to matters of pay, it usually takes two or three times through the system to ensure the problem is corrected. While I haven't had a problem with the DMV yet, that's because I have kept my home state's license and registration through my enlistment.
Believe me, should I ever change states, this posting will ensure I follow up and inform the DMV to remove me from their rolls.
Seems to me the problem, both in Megan's situation and Mr Whites, is that you have two bureaucracies interfacing, or not, as the case may be. I don't think the problem is unique to government, but as MarkT suggests, any time you have two organizations. Whether it's insurance or changing phone service from one provider to another, the chances of screwup are high, particularly when the interface is custom built.
You can run into a similar problem if you sell a car to someone from another state. Your home state will have no record of the transfer and when you drop the insurance coverage on the sold vehicle they may suspend your license for having an unisured vehicle. I know someone in Florida (where out of state vehicle sales are common because there are so many part-year residents) who went through that merry-go-round. An easy solution would be to have a form (availble on the Web, but required to be signed and mailed or faxed) whereby you could disavow ownership of the vehicle in question. This would result in cancellation of your registration and plates, which would prevent cheaters from using it to get out of paying insurance, but it would eliminate the trans-state problem.
Ms. McArdle, I don't imagine that the Virginia DMV, in all of its magnanimity, offered to reimburse you for the cab fare their oversight caused you to have to pay, eh?
Megan, I am glad you are still in the pink as far as your health. But until you get sick and start filing claims with your private insurer, you really don't know what bureaucracy is.
Note, it was not the Virginia DMV, but the DC DMV that failed to do its routine job. State sovreignity is a wonderful thing.
It would probably be a better system, although initially more burdensome, to have the individual changing his license and vehicle registration to notify his old DMV that he no longer resides in the state and that he/she has surrendered their license to the old DMV.
If you're a veteran, the government already does run your healthcare system. And apparently, pretty well.
Here's a rundown of recent evidence that the VA provides cheaper, better care than private for-profit providers:
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/97/12/2124
Looks to me like an idiot police officer. Why not rag on the cops?
If David White is interested in getting the sytem fault fixed (i.e., get the DC DMV system programmed to always inform the state which issued the past license) I suggest he send them a bill for his taxi fares and for the time he spent in court in VA on the grounds that they failed to do their acknowledged duty; and suggesting that they recover the money from VA because VA failed to honour a valid DC license.
Since Davis White is a journalist, he should be able to get a good and amusing story out of the follow up.
So how again does VA have grounds to suspend?
After all, if you are enough of a reprobate to drive without license, insurance, or registration, why on earth would the simple act of surrendering the physical license be enough to stop you?
If you'd been arrested here in the United Kingdom, your DNA would have been taken and kept on the national police database forever. Just saying.
Oh, and if you think the judiciary might take issue with the rights of the innocent individual against the stasste, well, here's a view on why it's "unfair"
"Lord Justice Sedley said this was indefensible and biased against ethnic minorities, and it would be fairer to include everyone, guilty or innocent"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6979138.stm