Understanding the Impact of Driver’s License Suspension: Lay Opinion in Impacted and Non-Impacted Populations

Abstract

The impact of low-level criminal enforcement on communities has been the subject of a growing body of scholarship and policy work, and awareness that even minor offenses can impose unaffordable criminal debt and negatively affect other rights. Many jurisdictions suspend driving privileges for nonpayment of traffic fines or court nonappearance without considering the individual’s ability to pay, affecting millions in the United States. To investigate the impact of such suspensions, we surveyed people in North Carolina (N = 853), a state with large numbers of such suspensions. Eighteen percent of respondents having had a suspended license, with race and low income predicting higher suspension rates, and increased difficulty for daily activities and ability to pay for housing. Thus, suspension policies are of questionable deterrence value and little public safety benefit, but impose great hardship for minor offenses. We offer abolishing suspension policies for non-safety reasons as the easiest policy change, as well as other incremental options. Restoration efforts for those affected should also be implemented, despite challenges in contacting those affected and providing procedures to get their license back. As such, comprehensive local-level efforts, which we describe, are likely necessary to address the challenges and harms associated with driver’s license suspensions.