No idea my license was suspended.. HELP

[mpstacy]

California

I recently lost my license and went it to get a new one at the DMV. The man behind the desk informed me that my license had been suspended since March and it is now November. The reason is due to violations of sections 21453A which was caught by a red light camera apparently and 405095. Apparently what they are claiming is that a red light camera found that I was in violation of 21453A. I have moved several times and as a result I never received a ticket or notice at all so I had no idea this had happened. Due to that I have a violation of 405095... A failure to appear in court. The real problem is that I had no idea this happened. What do I do?

 

[CdwJava]

What you do is contact the court and find out if it might still be possible to appear. It will probably not be possible at this late date so you may be stuck with paying the the fine, fees, and penalties. But, some courts are far more forgiving than others.

Understand that the law places the onus upon YOU to update your current mailing and residential address with the DMV. Your failure to follow the law and update your info is YOUR misfortune and not an excuse.

Oh, and be careful not to drive any motor vehicles until it is corrected. Any vehicle you operate on the public roads could be subject to a 30 day impound (and about $3,000 to get it out), even if it is not your vehicle.

 

[HighwayMan]

Understand that the law places the onus upon YOU to update your current mailing and residential address with the DMV.

That seems to be the number one cause of the "I never got a suspension notice from DMV" syndrome here in NY.

People don't seem to realize how important it is to keep their address current for BOTH license and registration.

 

[CdwJava]

We have a code section here in the CVC (I don't have it handy at the moment) that one salty DMV Investigator I knew referred to as, the "You snooze, you lose, section." In other words, if you failed to adhere to the regulations in the CVC regarding updating license, registration and insurance, you are out of luck if you try and use those issues as an excuse.