Dear buckeyebob-ga
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Let me
answer your second question first because it?s fairly simple:
Nowhere in the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code is there a statute that
requires a driver applying for Michigan license to surrender his
out-of-state license.
Having said that, according to document DE-40W dated October 2004, the
state of Michigan requires proof of identification from all new
residents who apply for a Michigan driver?s license. One of the
acceptable forms of identification is an out-of-state or Canadian
driver?s license. BUT, from the way this document is worded it too
appears that Michigan does indeed honor a non-Michigan license as
valid proof but does not require the applicant to surrender the actual
license to Michigan DMV.
IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ORIGINAL DRIVER LICENSE OR PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION CARD
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/DE40_032001_20459_7.pdf
Again, this same thing is reiterated on the Michigan Department of State web site:
MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_8669_9044-25223--,00.html
As for the Drivers License Compact (DLC) and the Non-Resident Violator
Compact (NVRC) that requires member states to report tickets received
by motorist to the state where they received a license to drive, as
you noted the state of Michigan is not a party to this interstate
agreement. I should point out however that in spite of the fact that
Michigan is not bound by the compacts, the state DOES voluntarily
participate in the NVRC. What comes into question is whether or not
the infraction is considered by the state of Michigan to be worthy of
accessing points. Some violations are considered criminal while others
are considered civil infractions. Criminal charges are assessed points
in Michigan and civil infractions are not. In some states these are
called moving and non-moving violations (respectively).
Section 257.320(a) of the Michigan Vehicle Code provides for the
addition of points to a driver's operating record upon conviction of
an infraction, and includes in the statue the provision for assessing
points due to infractions that occurred in other states (I have
capitalized a statement within for embellishment sake):
?Section 257.320(a) (1) Until October 1, 2005, within 10 days after
the receipt of a properly prepared abstract FROM THIS STATE OR ANOTHER
STATE, or, beginning October 1, 2005, within 5 days after the receipt
of a properly prepared abstract from this state or another state, the
secretary of state shall record the date of conviction, civil
infraction determination, or probate court disposition, and the number
of points for each, based on the following formula??
Clearly Michigan may assess points for some violations whether they
occurred inside or outside the state.
But, you may find this particularly interesting:
Because Michigan does not assess points for civil infractions, if you
are ticketed for one outside of Michigan, the state statutes protect
you from point assessment as long as you don?t appear in court in the
other state. In other words, if the out-of-state court finds you
guilty by default for failing to appear in court, Michigan does not
assess points for that civil infraction. Because it does not assess
points for civil infractions within the state, it does not assess
points for infractions outside the state either:
?Section 257.320(t) (9) If a Michigan driver commits a violation in
another state that would be a civil infraction if committed in
Michigan, and a conviction results solely because of the failure of
the Michigan driver to appear in that state to contest the violation,
upon receipt of the abstract of conviction by the secretary of state,
the violation shall be noted on the driver's record, but no points
shall be assessed against his or her driver's license. "
MICHIGAN LEGISLATURE
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=mcl-257-320a&queryid=10026475&highlight=points
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SOURCES
4CARINSURANCEQUOTES.COM
http://www.4carinsurancequotes.com/reciprocity.htm
CALHOUN COUNTY COURT
?Out of State Traffic Tickets - Do I get points on my Michigan driving record??
http://courts.co.calhoun.mi.us/quest036.htm
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Michigan
Out-of-state
Compact
Points
Assess
Violation
Infraction
Civil |
Request for Answer Clarification by
buckeyebob-ga
on
05 May 2005 13:58 PDT
O.K. so far. Here are a few finer details. First, you said 'BUT, from
the way this document is worded it too appears that Michigan does
indeed honor a non-Michigan license as valid proof but does not
require the applicant to surrender the actual license to Michigan
DMV.' Yes, I understand but also I have read in my own research that
you cannot hold a drivers license from two states simultaneously and
that this is a national data base subscribed to by all 50 states. So
I'm still not convinced about not surrendering the PA license. The
real question is does Michigan notify PA that I have a Mich. license.
That's is the only way MI would know about pending DUI suspensions in
PA.
Additionally, you said 'I should point out however that in spite of
the fact that Michigan is not bound by the compacts, the state DOES
voluntarily
participate in the NVRC.' The offense in question here is a DUI so not
a civil matter. It is true that MI gets a copy of your driving record
from PA in my example when initially issuing a MI license and adding
points,etc. to the MI record from the PA abstract. Does MI's
participation in the NVRC go beyond the initial copy of the PA
abstract to include actions by PA after the issuance of the MI license
due to pending court cases (DUI not civil)? What about future DUI
offences in any non-Michigan state.
This is real important. Thanks
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Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
06 May 2005 08:01 PDT
Ok, here we go. This is probably the best information we?ll get.
According to the Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, the
issuance of a Michigan driver?s license to someone who possesses an
out-of-state driver?s license actually CONVERTS the out-of-state
license to a Michigan license. In other words, it voids the out of
state license thereby making the Michigan license the primary license.
As I mentioned however, I found no provision that requires a person to
physically surrender their out-of-state license ?card? to the state of
Michigan.
MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-24451-88435--F,00.html
As an example of this, I actually have three licenses from three
different states, myself. The license from the state in which I
currently reside is my valid license. Although none of the three
states required me to surrender an out-of-state ?card? each time I
applied for a new license, the issuance of a new state?s license
automatically voided the previous license. In other words, I got to
keep my ?card? but it was no longer valid. If you return to
Pennsylvania and try to drive using your old Pennsylvania license, and
the police stop you, a computer check of your license will reveal that
your Pennsylvania license has been converted to a Michigan license.
Any future violations will be added to the record of your Michigan
license. Any subsequent convictions that might have been pending at
the time you obtain your Michigan license will also catch up with your
Michigan license because when they are added to your Pennsylvania
record they will be forwarded to your current valid driving history by
way of NCIC (National Crime Information Center) ? with whom I,
incidentally, am a certified operator by virtue of my 20+ years in law
enforcement, so I do have some extensive knowledge about this issue
that other might not necessarily have.
According to Secretary Land, the purpose for requiring all Michigan
drivers? license applicants to have Social Security numbers actually
has nothing to do with driver?s licenses; rather it is to design to
help the child support enforcement efforts in that state. The numbers
are not be displayed or encoded on the driver?s license. A person who
has never been issues a Social Security number can obtain a driver?s
license in Michigan as long as they sign a document (under the threat
of perjury) certifying that they have never been issued a Social
Security number.
MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627-88859--,00.html
Michigan is well known among the illegal immigrant population and
other groups who are looking for an easy place to get a driver?s
license. According to many experts, Michigan happens to be one of the
easiest places to get one. The state recently cracked down on the
problem after ads ran in foreign-language newspapers targeting
immigrants offering Michigan drivers? licenses in 48 hours for $1,000.
According to this January 12, 2005 article, the state of Michigan does
not use the Social Security Administration's online verification
system to ensure an applicant has a valid number, prompting evaluators
in a study conducted by sociologists of George Washington University
to give the state?s licensing program and ?F+?.
FEDS TRACK PHONY MICH. DRIVER IDS
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0501/12/A01-57938.htm
NEW REPORT REVEALS GAPING SECURITY HOLES IN STATE DRIVER'S LICENSE SYSTEMS
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/idrelease.html
As you will see, these articles goes on to say that thirty-eight
states use the online verification system set up by the Social
Security Administration (SSOLV), and that Michigan is exploring an
electronic Social Security verification system but hasn't adopted one
yet. So the answer to your question about the state?s use of the SS
verification system is clearly, ?No?. It isn?t clear what ?methods?
the state uses to verify Social Security numbers but at the present
time it certainly appears at least that no method is used at all. In
fact Michigan sought permission from the Federal government to cross
reference Social Security numbers with state tax records in order to
verify some of them and the Feds resoundingly denied their request to
do so. As it stands the verification process (if in fact there is one
at all) is a mystery and one that Michigan doesn?t appear to be
talking about openly.
I hope this finally clarifies the issue and answers your additional
questions. I welcome your rating and your final comments and I look
forward to working with you again in the near future.
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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