While the Driver Responsibility Assessment is clearly a “cash grab” for the State of New York, it’s impact and expense is felt by all drivers utilizing the highways and byways in the State of New York, including those licensed by other states. Further, in many instances (at least, outside of New York City), a driver or their attorney will have the opportunity to resolve the matter with less or no points, thereby taking the Driver Responsibility Assessment out of the equation. While no attorney can guarantee a specific result, the benefit of hiring an attorney, especially for an out-of-state driver, is that in most circumstances, they will never have to personally appear in court, as New York State law allows an attorney to appear without the client being present. Hindsight being 20/20, the more prudent decision is to speak with and hire an attorney as soon as the ticket is received. Since the filing of a motion does not stop DMV’s collection of the assessment, the driver will still need to pay, at least, the first assessment payment to avoid being suspended in New York. In the case of filing a motion, there is, of course, the additional expense of hiring an attorney and the realization that there is no guarantee that the court will grant the motion. In either scenario, there is a cost to the driver. With this in mind, what is an out-of-state driver to do? Once the Driver Responsibility Assessment is imposed, there are two options: (1) pay the assessment or (2) hire an attorney to file a motion to withdraw the guilty plea. Such suspension shall remain in effect until any and all outstanding driver responsibility assessments have been paid in full.” Clearly, ignoring this assessment is not the best way to proceed.
#PAY NYS DRIVER ASSESSMENT FEE LICENSE#
503(4)(d) of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, “ a person shall fail to pay any driver responsibility assessment as provided in this subdivision, the commissioner shall suspend such person's driver's license or privilege of obtaining a license. Of course, Matthew can choose not to pay this assessment. Sometime after making the payment to the court, and to his surprise, he receives a bill from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles directing him to send them $300.00, which can be made in one payment or $100.00 a year for the next three years. Matthew then pays the amount due and goes on with his life.
Thereafter, he receives a letter from the court informing him of the amount of the fine and surcharge. Since he does not live in the State of New York, and doesn’t want to have to take a day off of work, drive back to New York and go to court, he simply pleads guilty by mail. In this instance the allegation of driving 21 miles above the speed limit translates into a 6 point ticket. This means that New York State DMV will charge a driver $100.00 per year for a three-year period for the first six points on a driver’s record and an additional $25.00 per year for each additional point, regardless of where they are licensed.īy way of example, Matthew is stopped for speeding and given a speeding ticket accusing him of driving 76 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone. Section 503(4)(a) of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law states that “ny person who accumulates six or more points on his or her driving record for acts committed within an eighteen month period shall become liable to the for payment of a driver responsibility assessment.”
Per New York DMV's website, "he purpose of the assessment is to prevent the repeated behavior of problem drivers and to improve traffic safety." Adding insult to injury, the letter further states that if they fail make these payments, their driving privileges, in the State of New York, will be suspended! I know this, because several times a week, I receive a call from an out-of-state driver (most often New Jersey or Connecticut) who is bewildered by the letter they received from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles informing them that because they plead guilty to a Speeding Ticket in the State of New York, they must now pay a Driver Responsibility Assessment ("DRA") in the amount of $100.00 a year (or more), for three years. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not happy.
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