Letters From the MLA – March, 2010

Several constituents have contacted my office in the past months with questions about getting back their suspended driver’s licenses. These young men all lost their licenses for driving without insurance. After waiting out their court imposed suspension, they thought they’d be back behind the wheel. But then they each got a letter from Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations telling them to present themselves at their local Access Nova Scotia office and to turn in both their license to drive and their vehicle permit. “What’s going on?” they want to know.

It is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle – whether they own it or not – to ensure that the vehicle they’re driving is insured and that the insurance is paid and up-to-date. Borrowing a friend’s car and not knowing the insurance had elapsed is not an excuse. If the car isn’t insured, don’t drive it. It isn’t worth the risk.

When a police officer finds you driving a vehicle which does not have current insurance, a copy of the ticket is sent to the courts AND to Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations. The courts determine your guilt or innocence and, if warranted, can issue large fines and suspend your driver’s licence for a lengthy period (most often for one year). But that is not the end of the punishment. Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations, the department responsible for issuing driver’s licenses and vehicle permits, will also impose a punishment of their own.

In such cases it is common for Service Nova Scotia to place a suspension on your driver’s license AND the vehicle permit. These suspensions are separate and apart from any issued to you by the courts. More importantly, a Service Nova Scotia suspension is potentially limitless. There is no expiry date on their suspensions. That’s when I get the calls. “What do I have to do to get my driver’s license back?”

You must apply in writing to a Service Nova Scotia adjudicator and ask for your license to be reinstated. You must be able to satisfy the adjudicator that your court fines have been paid, so include a copy of the receipt. Your court suspension must be over, so include a copy of your court transcripts with the letter. Furthermore, you must have demonstrated a willingness to comply; in other words, when Service Nova Scotia asked you to return your driver’s license, plates and registration, you should have done so in a timely manner. Finally, there cannot be any new violations on your driving record.

Why two different punishments? Compare it to this: a school boy steals money from his teacher’s desk and gets caught. The principal suspends him for a week. Then his parents ground him for a month. One crime: two punishments.

Obviously the lesson in all of this is if you can’t afford car insurance, then you can’t afford to drive. The police take it seriously, as do the courts and the provincial government. Need more help with your driver’s license? Call my office. We’ll help you through it.