No More Suspensions for Failure to Pay 

Effective immediately, New York State has enacted sweeping changes to the traffic law related to traffic fines and driver's license suspensions. Chapter 76 of the Laws of 2021 requires that all courts take notice of the new law.

• Courts are no longer permitted to suspend a driver's privileges for failure to pay a fine, penalty, mandatory surcharge or other fees issued pursuant to NYS Vehicle and Traffic Sections 226(3), 227(4) and 510(4-a). Chapter 76 ends such suspensions immediately.
• Courts have been instructed to stop sending the New York State DMV such suspensions going forward.
  

This is good news for those drivers, who despite their best intentions, are unable to pay their court traffic fines and surcharges as fast as required by the court, thus being put at risk of a driving privilege suspension that can have far reaching negative consequences.

Please Note: Going forward, no new license suspension for failure to pay will be issued except for failure to pay regarding a violation of VTL 385 in New York City (related to dimensions and weights of vehicles).

Feel Free to Call Us With Questions

If you have a question regarding the impact of the new law on your situation contact the attorneys at Azria & Bruffett for assistance.