There are now more than 30,000 drivers on the road, who would have had their license suspended for failing to pay a traffic fine, but haven’t because the new computer system designed to track them has not worked right since it was installed in March of 2005.
The scofflaws, who have received tickets for non-criminal traffic violations, are getting away, for now, because the new computer at the Violations Bureau can’t talk to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
While a spokesman for the court system, which operates the Violations Bureau, said in February the system could be working that month, the goal now is to have it operational in August.
The estimated uncollected fine revenue is between $1 million and $1.5 million, or up to five times what the $300,000 computer system cost.
“It can’t be described as a total failure,” said Ted Glessner, state court administrator. “This is not a multi-million computer that failed. It didn’t fail. It’s just taking a long time to get up and running.”
The most persistent glitch is the computer software’s inability to communicate with the Bureau of Motor Vehicle system, where the records of the state’s drivers are stored. It is that computer the police check to see if a driver they stopped is driving on a valid license.
Doug Dunbar, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, which oversees the BMV, reiterated “this applies only to people who have not paid a fine for a non-criminal traffic infraction.”
That means someone who is stopped for driving under the influence, for example, or driving with a suspended license is being dealt with by the court system, despite the computer problems.
But that distinction doesn’t satisfy Rep. Darlene Curley, who along with Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham sponsored Tina’s Law after a Scarborough woman was killed by a trucker driving on a suspended license. The bill sets mandatory sentences for those who operate after suspension and commit serious motor vehicle offenses.
“It all adds up,” said Curley, R-Scarborough. “You have a driver that has a suspension because of speeding, and they don’t show up for court or they don’t pay their fine.” The suspension is not on their driving records, she said, and then they’re involved in something more serious like a drunk driving incident. “Not having a system that tracks it just allows repeat offenders on our highway.”
Diamond, a Democrat representing Cumberland County, was less concerned about the scofflaws turning into repeat offenders as he was about the financial impact on the state and the havoc it plays with a person’s driving record down the road.
“What happens is these things tend to multiply,” Diamond said. “Fines aren’t received or recorded and it can become a nightmare for citizens and a huge loss of money for the state.”
Glessner said that while the computer problems have been going on for too long, they are getting better.
Earlier this year, the courts cleared thousands of cases that were backlogged because it was so cumbersome to use the computer to schedule hearings on people who wanted to appeal their tickets. Every available judge in the state was used in the spring to hear the ticket appeals, and the system is now working properly, Glessner said.
The software is also now in place to transfer the suspension files to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the two departments will test the system this month.
Once the Violations Bureau computer can talk to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Glessner said the next step will be notifying 30,000 to 35,000 drivers that they are suspended.
He said those letters already are in the system and likely will be sent out in batches.
“We have to decide how many we are going to do at a time so people don’t get inundated in processing these,” he said. And there may be a grace period between the notice and the actual suspension to give people time to pay up.
“Because of the age and volume, there may be a little gap in there,” he said.
“Our belief is ultimately we will collect,” most of the money owed, Glessner said, and in the long run will have saved taxpayer dollars by going with the inexpensive computer system.
“It’s certainly taken a toll on our staff. It’s been a very painful year getting through this,” he said, but “things are much better.”
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