A money making scheme of massive proportions
This page is not the rambling of one of those few people. This is for all licensed drivers.
I, as a licensed Ohio driver, do feel that it is completly necessary that ALL drivers in Ohio are insured under all circumstances. This page is a comment on how Ohio and the BMV exploits this law for their own financial gain.
* If you are "randomly selected" you will be sent a letter from the BMV, to the address that appears on your license - NOT WHERE YOUR VEHICLE IS ANNUALLY REGISTERED - that looks just like the letter you get around your birthday for the option to get your annual tags. Many people throw the annual tags letter away and the BMV knows this.
* Take note that if you live at a different residence from what's shown on your license, this letter cannot by forwarded by the post office to your new address. It clearly states "Not to be forwarded" on the envelope.
THOSE PAYING RENT - BE AWARE!
* If you do not live at the residence shown on your license, chances are you will not get the letter and therefore your license will be suspended. You will NOT be notified that it is suspended either. The way most people who have gotten stuck with this matter find out by being pulled over by law enforcement running plates. If you have law enforcement following closely while you have your cruise locked into the posted speed limit, chances are, the officer is running your plates.
Source: Officer Kenneth Kemper, 20 year veteran, Green Township Police Department, Hamilton County, Ohio.
* If you get your annual tags at your local BMV registrar, they do not have the data at their disposal if you're suspended under random selection. DUI and other more serious stuff, they do have the information. You'd think the BMV in all offices would have networked systems that would notify them that a driver seeking tags would be suspended under all circumstances, but they don't. It's "Here's your tags, have a nice day!" and you're on your way.
* In other states, namely Indiana and Kentucky, they do not give you your tags without proof of insurance at their office. No proof? No tags. Period. No letters sent, no weird bullshit oddball laws...no proof, no tags, seem to be policy. Hey, I like that policy! And Indiana and Kentucky are supposed to be backward-type states compared to Ohio? Maybe in some issues, but not in this one that affects all licensed drivers.
* What Ohio does when you get your tags is that you sign some form that looks like it was made and printed off of some kid's computer in the basement that has some stipuations about having insurance,then you sign it and that's that. You don't show the person behind the counter that you have proof, and even if you show it to them because you get the feeling the form is pretty pointless, the person behind the counter could care less and doesn't have access to let the BMV and/or the state know you have your insurance as of current.
* "Many Ohio drivers are suspended and don't even know it because of this random selection shit. Old ladies with clean driving records, you name it. Probably one in thirty" Source: Clermont County Police District Officer, Batavia, Ohio.
* Judges and magistrates don't seem to be too understanding of this law and it's reason. Some may be. But, most judges and magistrates...they see suspended as what it is...suspended. To them, depending on the judge, the location of the court and the location of your residence, most of the time you're as good as the guy who got suspended for DUI, hit and run or past vehicular assault. Quite a difference from not getting some stupid letter, don't you think?
* When you find out of this suspension, try to find your old insurance papers referring to coverage of the time when the BMV sent you their random selection letter. It could be from a few months ago to a few years ago. If it was years ago, as it is in many cases because of the driver not knowing he or she was suspended, notify the company you were insured under during that time to get a letter from them to prove your coverage. If it's the insurance company you don't deal with anymore due to other reasons, especially if they dropped you or you cussed them out over a claim they wanted to act like would bankrupt the company, they will take their sweet time in getting the letter to you or not get the letter to you at all.
* If you cannot find the papers that show your coverage or you don't know who you were covered by, get ready for Red Tape City that is going to COST YOU. A clusterf**k of magnificent preportions is afoot!
* Chances are how you found out from this suspension was through law enforcement. That means a court date or hearing/arraignment. That means court costs. Law enforcement will give you time to get your shit together, but counting on others to get your shit together for you, like insurance companies them being legendary dyed-in-the-wool "could care less" outfits, you could be just making the deadline before your court date or not make it at all.
* If you are caught in this situation, the BMV has a nice little way of reinstating you. Depending on who you get on the other end of the phone or if the person behind the desk at the BMV reinstatement office - this is NOT where you get your tags and your license picture taken, by the way - you will pay $125.00 to reinstate your license and possibly, not always, but possibly have to get "high risk" insurance. You could have a totally clean driving record - no tickets, no violations, no DUI's, no vehicular assults, no missed dates on your tags or anything - they will have you fill out something called an SR22 and you may have to get high risk insurance.
* Reason for high risk insurance, besides the fact that it had to be the insurance companies lobbying for this random selection bullshit to be implemented knowing many times it would be a cash cow, is that the law sees it that a suspension under any circumstances is reason enough for high risk insurance.
* If you do get caught in this situation, you're pretty screwed. Getting counsel to represent you will probably be more expensive than adding up all the court costs, fines and could delay your license being reinstated. Also, if you get pulled over again after you get your plates run, that's another court date for wherever you are. If you're in some neigh-bob county between Cleveland and Columbus - Morrow County for example - they're not going to care about your story in Cuyahoga or Franklin or Hamilton counties about your pending court and suspension situation. Chalk it up to another court date and court costs.
* The judge, many times, will intimidate you with the maximum penalties for driving under suspension, which is 6 months in jail and/or $1000.00 in fines. To the regular law abiding citizen, hearing those words mouthed from a judge is pretty damn scary. Scary enough into making you pay for whatever it takes to get your license reinstated legally. The BMV and their lawmakers know this aspect and it makes them money.
* Let's not beat around the bush here. Ohio is broke. I've lived in Ohio all my life. Schools are closing down, government offices are in a budget crunch, Cleveland Heights can't repave their crappy paved lots to where it looks like a band of vandals armed with nuclear-powered jackhammers came rolling through, Cincinnati is taking tax bribe extortions from large companies and all the while we've got a proposal in Ohio to spend millions on electronic voting machines to head off another Florida 2000 situation. Someone's gotta make some money. This is just one example.
So, if you recieve a letter from the BMV, open it! Get your address taken care of on your license every time you move. Send a copy of your financial responsibility to the BMV if you get the letter. They've got us by the cojones, folks. All this red tape bureaucracy is set up this way for a reason.
Ok, so I'm making a big deal out of this. Hey, beats spending the least amount which is $125.00 and in the most amount...hell, you can bet it jogs up to near a grand after all is added up. Just because you didn't get a letter or threw it away.
Now I know it's possible that some law enforcement or lawyer is going to read this and email their reasons and how I'm wrong about this or that. Well, ok, say that's the case...if it were the case, why doesn't law enforcement seem aware of all of this when explained to them face to face? Even judges seem unaware about this. We don't have the lawbooks at our disposal, but you do! Hell, after reading this and just say it makes you motivated enough to email me to write, chances are you had to go look up the law regarding this crap to begin with.
Here's a site regarding oddball insurance/licence laws.
Chuck full of people who obviously have tried to mess with
the system because they weren't insured, but there's some interesting spiels in there.
SCREWED BY INSURANCE
NOTHING ABOUT LETTERS THROUGH THE MAIL OR
THE FORWARDING OF LETTER RESTICTION
This one is great. Doesn't tell you a thing except how to PAY.
All the great little options you have to get your cutesy personalized plates and all that noise.
Not a thing about the biggest reason for suspensions in the state except the links posted above.