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MICHIGAN DRIVERS' RESPONSIBILITY LAWS
For full details on the "Driver Responsibility" program
and related fees and procedures, visit the Michigan Secretary of State's
webpage by clicking
here.
Drivers in Michigan are held to high standards and expectations
when it comes to driving responsibly. To encourage high levels of appropriate
driving behaviour, in 2005 the State of Michigan enacted "Driver
Responsibility Fees" that must be paid over, above AND IN ADDITION
TO ticket/citation fees, driver license reinstatement fees and court
costs.
Therefore, the best course of action is: DRIVE
RESPONSIBLY AND DON'T INCUR THE DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY FEES!
The Michigan Department of Treasury sends out notices
of the additional fees due to the address on file with the office of
the Michigan Secretary of State. Failure to receive a notice does not
waive the fees assessed. Non-payment of fees can result in driver's license
suspension until the fees are paid in full.
Many people are not aware of the extreme seriousness
of these additional "Driver's Responsibility Fees," and they
often come as a surprise -- and quite a shock -- as to how much money
can be involved, and as to the effects of not paying the fees.
In addition, the list of offenses is very broad,
and the payment of some fees spreads over two years. Some
of the second year fees cannot be paid in advance during the first
year -- which means drivers must live with the second year fees pending
for an extended period of time, and with the possibility of forgetting
and incurring additional expenses hanging over their heads. In some
cases, installment payment plans are an option; in many cases, there
are no installment payment plans available and therefore, the driver's
license is suspended until all the fees are paid. If an installment
payment is missed, the driver's license automatically gets suspended
becasue the agreement is considered as broken, and a $125 driver license
reinstatement fee becomes due as well.
The Drivers' Responsibility laws are written
in such a way that in most circumstances, hardships with
payment are not considered as a reason to waive license suspension. The
Michigan Department of Treasury has the powers to pursue very aggressive
collection measures for these fees as set forth in the Drivers' Responsibility
laws. See
the FAQs Page at the Drivers' Responsibility website by clicking here for
more details.
An additional wrinkle is that the Michigan Department
of Treasury handles fee payments for driver's responsibility items --
not the Michigan Secretary of State's local branch offices. Drivers
need to allow extra time because of needing to deal with two different
State departments. When payment is made to the Treasury
Department, there is often some time that must go by while the Treasury
Department clears, posts and then sends a certification of the payment
to the Secretary of State's offices. This time period can be at least
2 weeks, and is sometimes longer. The drivers' responsibility fees
and the driver's license reinstatement fees therefore cannot be paid
on the same day.
Click
Here to view the State of Michigan webpage on what constitutes
offenses requiring the payment of a driver responsibility fee.
WHAT IS "DRIVER
RESPONSIBILITY?"
Public Act 165 of 2003, known as the Driver
Responsibility Law, took effect October 1, 2003. This law was
amended by Public Act 52 of 2004.
Its purpose is to encourage traffic safety by
deterring potentially dangerous driving behavior. Other states,
including New Jersey and Texas, have implemented similar laws.
Michigan's Driver Responsibility Law calls for a monetary assessment
for drivers who:
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Are convicted of specific qualifying offenses,
or
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Accumulate seven or more qualifying points
on their driving records
Revenues collected from Driver Responsibility
Fees go to the state's General Fund, with collections in excess
of $65 million (up to $3.5 million) being directed to a newly
created Fire Protection Fund. The State of Michigan has begun
notifying affected individuals of their payment obligations for
violations of the Driver Responsibility Law, through correspondence
from the Michigan Department of Treasury. |
Updated: January 12, 2010
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