Oregon Taking Away Licenses for Out-of-State Suspensions

In the First Week of New Enforcement, 15 People Lose Their Right to Drive for Problems Elsewhere.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

DAVE HOGAN

SALEM -- Closing a longtime loophole in drunken-driving enforcement, state officials have started taking away Oregonians' drivers licenses if their licenses are suspended in other states for failing a sobriety test or refusing to take one.

Oregon's Driver and Motor Vehicle Services suspended 15 drivers' licenses last week, the first week of the new enforcement.

Dozens of times a month, other states take away Oregonians' licenses because they're suspected of driving drunk and they refuse to take a sobriety test, or fail one. But until Jan. 31, the DMV didn't enforce the out-of-state suspensions unless they were court-ordered.

After a federal audit called the lack of enforcement a problem, state officials began to make the computer coding changes and other arrangements needed to enforce out-of-state suspensions.

The new enforcement kicks in when the DMV is notified that another state has suspended an Oregonian's license to drive. The driver loses his or her license until the out-of-state suspension has ended and they've cleared requirements for reinstatement, including fees.

"We are imposing an indefinite suspension," said Mary Garcia, the DMV's driver control program coordinator. "These people will be suspended until they can provide clearance from the other state."

The change eliminates a longtime inconsistency in licensing.

Drivers who fail sobriety tests in Oregon lose their licenses for 90 days for the first failure, and for a year for a second failure.

Drivers who refuse a sobriety test in Oregon automatically lose their license for a year, and a refusal in a second case results in a three-year suspension. In 2003, more than 12,000 Oregon drivers had their licenses suspended for refusing a test.

Since 1983, state law also has allowed the DMV to take away the licenses of Oregon drivers who refuse sobriety tests in other states. Most of the out-of-state suspensions occur in Washington.

But if their out-of-state suspension went no further than a diversion program and did not result in a criminal conviction, Oregon drivers were able to keep driving at home. Until now.

The change can be traced to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration review of Oregon's commercial driver licensing in 2001. The DMV then told the federal agency it would begin enforcing out-of-state suspensions in early 2004.

But DMV administrator Lorna Youngs later said the plan would be delayed until this year because of other information technology projects "and our limited resources."