States Cooperate to Track DUI Offenders
Individuals who have a habit of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while inebriated may believe they can escape problems if they simply leave the state. Unfortunately for them, there are reciprocal agreements between the majority of states in the nation so information on such perpetrators can be shared.
While such agreements ensure your record will follow you to others states; they also guarantee problems will follow you back home again. The shared information can be as minor as a speeding ticket or as major as a DUI. The ability to share this information is essential to keep drivers safe on the road, but not all states cooperate in one system.
The main agreements that currently exist are the Drivers License Compact (DLC) and Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC). The DLA – or Drivers License Agreement – also exists, but has not yet gained the state following of the DLC or the NRVA. And, while the former two agreements do claim a great number of states involved, there are still other states that have put their own agreements between the Motor Vehicle administration and other states.
The DLC agreement requires its members to report any ticket convictions back to the violator’s home state. The only states currently not involved in this agreement are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Most of these states do have their own agreements in place to exchange information with other states, although they may not be as uniform as the DLC.
Membership in the DLC appears to only require reporting and each state then decides what to do with the information received. This is a key difference in the NRVC, which requires states to suspend a driver’s license if the owner fails to pay the ticket or take the necessary legal action. The NRVC claims all states as members, save for Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Reports throughout the industry show that the DLC and NRVC agreements will be revised. The purpose is to combine the two into one new and more powerful agreement, allowing for one system to be shared by all. The hope is to create effective and efficient management of all DUI offenders, especially in areas where cities may share state lines.
The movement toward one system has been slow and indications show it may not speed up anytime soon. It is unclear as to what objections some states may have to a single system, although cooperation without clear investigation can put a state at risk of losing certain controls.
One thing is clear, however; any system that can seamlessly track the habits of a repeat DUI offender and more quickly and easily remove them from the roads will protect more lives in the future.
