Ending License Suspensions for Court Debt

Almost one million North Carolinians (nearly one tenth of our population) either can’t drive – or drive in constant fear – because their driver’s license has been suspended due to unpaid court debt, most often related to traffic infractions. The two most common traffic related reasons for suspensions are failure to appear (“FTA”) for a court date and failure to comply (“FTC”) with a fine, penalty, or court costs. We study the impact of driver's license suspensions (which can hurt the economy, clog court dockets, and harm individuals and communities) and encourage policies that end driver's license suspensions for FTAs and FTCs while still encouraging court appearance.