Nearly A Third Of Miami-Dade Drivers Carry Suspended Licenses

Almost a third of Miami-Dade County residents are driving with a suspended license, Miami Today reported last Tuesday (September 15).

Out of the county's 2 million licensed drivers, 665,307 driving with suspended licenses, according to the most recent figures from the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court Administrator’s Office.

“That’s a huge percentage of our drivers,” said Eileen Higgins, a county commissioner. the commissioner backing the task force.

Higgins is backing a new team that would look at easing driver license suspensions in Miami-Dade: the Driver License Suspension Task Force.

County commissioners are meeting on October 6 to decide on the creation of this new task force. Its duties would include reviewing court-related fines and fees tied to suspensions, seeking public and expert input and researching solutions, Miami Today reported.

Overall, proponents say the task force would "benefit residents’ wallets and government coffers."

The vast majority of suspended licenses are not for bad driving, but for not paying fines, according to Harris Levine with Ker-Twang, a company that claims to be working for low-income people.

“In fact, we’re actually suspending 125 times more people for not paying fines than we are for dangerous driving,” Levine said.

Another factor in this issue is Florida's low-tax and high-fee model, Miami-Dade Judge Steven Leifman said, adding it's also costing the Sunshine State money.

“We’ve reached a tipping point. They’ve put the burden of taxes on some of the lowest-income people who cannot afford it, so they don’t pay their tickets, continue to drive and end up having collateral impacts like jail and other issues," the judge said to Miami Today

Photo: Getty Images