By Senator Shirley K. Turner



Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a report that characterized municipal court practices as social injustice due to oppressive motor vehicle violation fines and penalties.

The system increasingly relies on traffic offenders to finance local government. The unaffordable and burdensome fines imposed on defendants - who are most often poor minorities - regularly lead to driver license suspension and sometimes jail when they cannot pay.



I have long advocated for reforms that would mitigate the consequences of driver license suspension on the poor. Recently, I introduced legislation to eliminate the oppressive Motor Vehicle surcharge system, which levies monetary sanctions that are charged each year for three years, accumulate interest, and are added to any court-imposed fines and penalties.

Drivers who fail to pay their surcharges face driver license suspension. People suffering financial hardship can experience multiple suspensions during the course of their payment period and are then punished with restoration fees.



A driver whose license is suspended and has no alternative transportation to work is placed in a no-win situation: lose the job or break the law to continue earning a paycheck. With no job or income, the driver is unable to pay down surcharge debt or provide for even basic needs.

If caught driving, the driver faces additional infractions, longer suspensions, and more fines and surcharges that become financially unmanageable.



In New Jersey, most jobs are situated beyond the bus lines and not within walking distance. A valid driver license is needed to apply for work, even those jobs that do not entail driving. It's required for labor apprenticeships, even when those jobs are located on construction sites in urban neighborhoods.

Our state lags behind the nation in employment gains and economic growth, in part because our policies create hurdles to employment. The surcharge system, along with a biased and broken criminal justice system, has significantly contributed to income inequality.



I served on the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Affordability and Fairness Task Force, a panel established in 2003 after I condemned the way our motor vehicle laws and surcharges punish the poor. The Task Force found that a disproportionate number of suspended drivers reside in urban and low-income areas.

This should come as no surprise given New Jersey's history of bias in stopping and ticketing drivers because of their skin color. Although the State Police has taken steps to end racial profiling, a lack of fair and impartial enforcement is rampant among some local police.

Minority drivers are ticketed more frequently; therefore, fines, court costs, surcharges, suspensions, higher auto insurance premiums, jail time, joblessness and other consequences of motor vehicle tickets fall more heavily on poor minorities.



The surcharge system was created during the "tough on crime" wave of the 1980s that did more to harm than help poor minorities. Some reforms eased the devastating effects of those policies; however, the surcharge system remains in place.

Surcharges, at one time, funded auto insurance for at-risk drivers. Today, they repay bonds that finance special needs housing projects - a purpose totally unrelated to driving.

Once again, the state is balancing the budget on the backs of the poor.



New Jersey is among only four states in the nation with a surcharge system; it does not act as a deterrent to bad driving, but rather perpetuates poverty and provides steady revenue for the state. Revoking driving privileges, essential to employment, for not paying surcharges is punitive, counterproductive, and discriminatory.



My bill S1508 gradually eliminates the surcharge program and requires that no new bonds be issued against surcharge revenues. We can ease the burden of driver license suspensions on the poor by allowing for restricted use driver licenses, a policy I have fought for since 2002.

My bill, S1080, would enable suspended drivers to drive to work, school, medical appointments, and child care. It would enable more people to be employable, maintain their jobs, and pay down their debt. More than 38 states offer restricted use licenses.



There is no fairness in a system that flagrantly cuts off individuals from the labor force and traps them in poverty. It's long past time to provide the opportunity for the poor to be put on the road to economic and social justice.



Shirley K. Turner has served the state Senate since 1998, where she represents the 15th Legislative District.

