New Rules Aim to Relieve Driver Debt
Today, the Texas Department of Public Safety released proposed new rules that would make it easier for poor Texans with traffic tickets to get right with the law. Texas adopted the so-called Driver Responsibility Program in 2003. Under the program, drivers who get certain kinds of tickets have to pay huge annual surcharges to the DPS in order to keep their driver's licenses. Only what was happening was that thousands of Texans weren't paying and they were losing their licenses, winding up in already crowded courts and jails.
So, last year, lawmakers told DPS to revamp the program ...
Comments (2)
eamartinez
This program has been a quantifiable failure -- in addition to being an unconscionable burden on low-income and working-class Texans. What I love about Texas politics is that NONE of this gets discussed in the election season. It's all talk about polls and horse races and nothing about the real issues that impact the daily lives of people.
It's irresponsible to leave it to the campaigns to drive the discussion. Candidates should be pressed on this "hidden tax" strategy -- which includes the Driver Resp. Program, tolls, and other recently-increased fees -- used by an administration in order to sell itself as "anti-tax." Texas has been burdened by a dishonest, Orwellian politically-driven framing of fundamental policy issues.
I wish the Tribune would tell the bigger story. I'll write here what I told a friend recently: "The Tribune reports policy through the lens of politics. I'd wish, instead, it reported politics through the lens of policy." I've admired the reports on state school abuse and problems in the penal system. I'd like to see more on other broader issues the will shape our state in the years to come.
tricia haywood
To the dep[artment of public safety and all other law inforcement departments includding municipal courts, and judges. The system is broken, when it comes to traffic violations, I agree with the strick laws that texas have to inforce dui, especially if it involves taking the life of a human being. But as for as traffice tickets you are almost forced to get a ticket in the frist place, what i mean by that is there are police stalking, hiding, and looking for any little traffic violations to hand a ticket out, what ever happen to a warning ticket. If you forget to use a signal light, stopping a driver for what ever reason and asking for the passenger license, you really feel like a fugitive when you have a traffic citation, because they hunt you down, day and night, when you really have murders, rapist, robberies, accidents, that is where there priororities should be focus on. If they can relieve drivers that have only tickets it would be a wonderful thing. There is soo many people that just do not have the money to pay these ridiculos large surchrages, and traffic citations. So please try and help these people to clear there name, and get their licenses back, so that they can stop looking over their shoulders and continue to rake up more violations every time they are stop because the old tickets have not been taken care of. Plus you will beable to make millions, from giving motorist a second chance.