The Forsyth County DRIVE Program
provides an avenue through which Forsyth
County Residents burdened by economic
hardship may engage with the court system
to have their driver’s license restored.
The Forsyth County DRIVE Program
provides an avenue through which Forsyth
County Residents burdened by economic
hardship may engage with the court system
to have their driver’s license restored.
You may be eligible for assistance through the DRIVE Program if the Department of Motor vehicles suspended your driver’s license prior to 2015 for failing to pay court costs and fines after receiving a traffic citation in Forsyth County.
“In 2015, with the help of the Minister’s Conference of Winston-Salem, I created a license restoration program that we called Community Outreach. This program was the first of its kind in North Carolina and was designed to help people regain their driver’s licenses by going back into their driving history and clearing out old unresolved driving cases. The program generated tremendous interest across the state and has since been duplicated in many prosecutorial offices in North Carolina. Community Outreach was extremely labor-intensive behind the scenes, as there was such a need for people to be able to drive legally on our streets. As a result, the program was offered on a limited schedule. Thanks to the support and the generosity of the Winston-Salem City Council, I am pleased to announce that the original Community Outreach program will now be available year-round to citizens that are working to restore their driving privileges with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This new program is called DRIVE, and I am excited to see how many more of our citizens we will be able to help in this meaningful way.”
The program generated tremendous interest across the state and has since been duplicated in many prosecutorial offices in North Carolina.
Community Outreach was extremely labor intensive behind the scenes, as there was such a need for people to be able to drive legally on our streets. As a result, the program was offered only infrequently.
Thanks to Winston-Salem Councilman James Taylor and the generosity of the Winston-Salem City Council, I am pleased to announce that the original Community Outreach program will now be available year round to citizens that are working to restore their driving privileges with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This new program is called DRIVE, and I am excited to see how many more of our citizens we will be able to help in this meaningful way.”
“Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right”
JAMES R. O’NEILL
District Attorney
North Carolina General Statute § 20-24.1 dictates that the Department of Motor Vehicles must revoke the driver’s license of a person charged with a motor vehicle offense who failed to appear in court or failed to pay a fine, penalty, or court cost ordered by the court.
Statewide, of the 1.3 million people who had their
driver’s license suspended in the state, 21 percent
are for failing to pay traffic fines or court fees while
66 percent are for failure to appear in court.
More specifically, approximately 9,693 drivers out of 284,922 Forsyth County residents of driving age have a suspended license for unpaid
traffic court fines and fees. Although many driver’s license suspensions in North Carolina are denoted as a failure to appear, less is known
about the causes of FTAs. While some individuals avoid court for problematic reasons, such as willful avoidance of court obligations, there
are also potential financial and indigency-related causes for failing to appear. For example, someone who cannot afford to take a day off
work lest they lose their job or who cannot afford childcare may not appear.
Cycle Of Revocation
A suspended license can result in negative consequences ranging from job loss, to restricted career opportunities, to limited mobility. Additionally, when an individual drives while their license is revoked, they may face subsequent prosecution and accrue additional fines. As the court stated in Thomas v. Haslam,1 “[court] debt leads to a license revocation; the revocation leads to another conviction, this time for driving on a revoked license; the new conviction creates more debt; and the cycle begins again, with the driver, who was already indigent, only deeper in . . .
a debt spiral.”
Ticketed Traffic
Offense
Multiple Indefinite
License Suspensions
Appear in Court and
Fail to Pay or Fail to Appear
Cannot Afford New
Fines and Fees
Cannot Afford
Fines and Fees
Indefinite License
Suspension
Drive Without
License
Ticketed for Driving,
Registration, Insurance
Forsyth County DRIVE Program in the News
QUOTES
North Carolina state statue provides that an individual may restore their driver’s license by demonstrating that the failure to pay court
fees and fines “was not willful” and that the person “is making a good faith effort to pay” or that the amount “should be remitted.”
The Forsyth County DRIVE program intends to aid individuals in making this presentation to the court with the goal of license restoration.
If the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles suspended or revoked your license prior to 2015, please apply.