When drivers with suspended licenses get behind the wheel of a motor
vehicle, they put their lives - and yours -
at risk.
In this series, investigative reporter Kevin Wack measures the dangers these
drivers pose, evaluates the effectiveness of efforts to crack down, and
looks at what else could be done.
Putting on the brakes Prevention requires public education, even-tougher penalties, officials say.
[January 22, 2008]
Drugs, suspensions fit pattern in teacher's death The collision that killed Harold Weisbein happened in a matter of seconds. But like many other fatal crashes involving suspended drivers, it was years in the
making.
To expand on Mudhen's comments, not everyone who has had their license suspended is even aware of it. I was stopped by a very zealous traffic cop in Daytona Beach Florida for rolling a Stop sign, which I would have challenged had I been remaining there. I blew off the fine and life went on. One year later when I renewed my license I was informed by the clerk that I had been under suspension for a year. I had no idea. Never received a notice from either Florida or Maine. After paying up I was reinstated and life went on ... again.report abuse
mudhen
of Limington, ME
Jun 11, 2009 1:03 PM
I understand that the law is the law, but the press blows this way out of proportion. Many of the people who are driving with suspended licenses are only guilty of not being able to pay fines received for non-moving violations, like expired inspection stickers. Every time someone with a suspended license is involved in any kind of accident you hear 'man/woman with xxx suspensions' involved in whatever. Not everyone who has a suspended license is an 'accident waiting to happen,' and many people with suspended licenses are better drivers because they are so afraid of being pulled over. Can't we dispense with the dramatics and reserve the big deal for people who have had their licenses suspended for serious violations? What about all those people with valid licenses who run red lights on a regular basis? Is it less of an offense if they kill someone because they don't have a suspended license?report abuse
Lucy
of Worcester, MA
May 16, 2009 9:06 AM
My daughter is an alcoholic and lives in Maine. We have done everything we can to not let her drive. She has had three OUIs. After the first one, they gave her license back until she recieved notification that it was revoked. This was a period of about two weeks. That's when she received the other two OUIs. Are the people in Maine brain dead. Her license should have been taken right then and there and then the other two would not have happened. Her rationale is well I'm in trouble anyway, I may as well drink up and drive and not worry about it for the remaining time that I have my license.report abuse
John McKeen
of Scarborough, ME
Apr 21, 2009 10:04 PM
Wouldn't drivers without licenses be very cautious and obey driving rules to avoid being stopped as they know if they are stopped, they'll be going to jail.report abuse
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KEVIN WACK joined the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in January 2004 and is the newspaper's investigative
reporter. He was part of a reporting team that won a Publick Occurrences Award in 2007 from the New England Newspaper Association for articles on the classroom struggles
of boys. He has also won state and regional awards for investigative reporting on a brain-harvesting operation at the state morgue. He graduated from Stanford University
and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and has worked for The Associated Press.
ANDREW RUSSELL joined the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in May 1996 as a reporter and was named city editor in September
2002. He has edited numerous award-winning stories and series, including "The New Gender Gap," about boys' struggles in the classroom, and the newspaper's coverage
of the military base closure process. He graduated from Norwich University and has worked for daily newspapers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
SUZI PIKER joined the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in May 2007 and is an online content producer. She helped produce
"A Legacy of Ships" last year, focusing on video and audio storytelling components. She graduated from Skidmore College and has worked for Boston
magazine.
JEFF WOODBURY, a Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram online artist, moved to Maine in 2005 after spending eight years in New
York, where he worked as an infodesigner in midtown Manhattan for five years. He has won several awards from the Maine Press Association. He and his wife have two
children.
Harold Weisbein, Jr.
Tina Turcotte
Night patrol
One offender:
