Suspended license and car rental

[TipsyTraveler]

The one constant I've encountered every time I've rented a car is that I needed to present a valid driver license. As an example, I looked up Dollar's policies.

https://www.dollar.com/AboutUs/GeneralPolicies.aspx

C. Authorized Drivers: The DOLLAR vehicle may be driven only by an authorized driver. An authorized driver is the renter and any additional person who appears at the time of rental and signs the rental agreement. All authorized drivers must satisfy our age requirements, have a valid driver’s license, provide a physical street resident address, a major credit card in their own name, and fulfill our other qualifications, which vary by location. Employers and co-employees of renters renting on corporate rate plans, if properly licensed and meet our age requirements, are authorized to drive the vehicle while acting within the scope of their employment duties. See our credit requirements and driver’s license requirements below. The authorized driver and any additional authorized drivers may be subject to a driver record check (See below). No other persons are authorized to drive the vehicle.

L. Driver's Licenses:

United States Citizens and U.S. Military Personnel: A renter or any additional authorized driver who is a citizen of the United States, must present at the time of rental:

(1) a driver’s license issued by any state, territory or possession of the United States , and valid for the entire rental period.

(2) a temporary driver’s license, valid for the entire rental period

(3) a traffic citation issued as a temporary license, valid for the entire rental period (the court date being the expiration date) and a second form of identification with signature (excluding the credit card used for rental)

(4) a valid U.S. military identification card plus an expired driver's license for active duty U.S. military personnel in those states where active duty U.S. military can drive on an expired driver's license

(5) a valid driver’s license issued by a providence or territory of Canada

(6 a foreign driver’s license* issued by the country of residence of the renter and additional drivers. If the driver’s license is not in English the renter and drivers may provide a current International Driver’s Permit (“IDP”); or, if from Japan, a Japanese Translation Service. An IDP does not give a person the right to drive, but provides a certified translation of the valid foreign driver’s license. An IDP (or certified translation) without the foreign issued driver’s license is not acceptable.

*If the foreign issued driver’s license is from a country where “permanent” or “non-expiring” driver’s license are issued, the renter and any additional drivers will also be required to show their passport, visa, or other current U.S. issued documentation at the beginning of their rental authorizing the renter or driver to be present in the USA at the time of rental.​

Cool story, but different companies and countries may handle things differently. For example, Budget (the first one I looked up) will accept a traffic citation and library card in lieu of a driver's license depending on the circumstances.

"Will you accept any other form of identification in lieu of a driver's license?
Answer: In lieu of a valid driver's license, Budget corporate-operated locations in the U.S. will accept traffic citations or summonses issued by officials in these seven states: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. The citation only will be accepted up until the court appearance date shown on the citation or summons. A customer who presents a citation/summons in lieu of a driver's license is required to present a second form of personal identification with a signature on it. Any second form of I.D. with a signature is acceptable, such as a department store card, passport, library card or company I.D. with a signature. Rules at licensee-owned locations and locations outside of the U.S may vary."

Not that any of this is relevant to the girl in question. She has a driver's license. The question is whether the rental company will figure out it's suspended. Which, to use Budget as the example again...

"Will you check my driving record?
Answer: Once a customer opens a rental agreement, but before the transaction is completed, some Budget corporate-owned locations might contact the issuing Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to perform a driver’s license verification for primary and additional drivers."

Some corporate-owned locations might... Doesn't sound very thorough.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I really hope they catch this immature brat before she gets the keys to a rental car. I'm sure she doesn't realize that, if she's in an accident--even a minor one--she can have fraud charges on top of everything else. IF she thinks a suspended license is inconvenient, she should try jail.

 

[Klayfish]

I know the moral side of this is not good, and I agree with everyone's thoughts.

However, I can tell you for 100% certain that they DO NOT run any check on a persons' drivers license. You are required to present a drivers license to the rental counter and the rental agent must look at it to ensure it's current, looks real, etc...but they don't actually do any kind of driving record check. So if the state she is in doesn't require her to surrender her license (or she ignores the order to do so), then she could easily get a rental car.

If she gets into an accident, she'd certainly get a citation from the police and perhaps her suspension would be made longer. The rental agency could deny liability coverage to her, so it would then fall back to her (or her mothers' if she lives at home) personal insurance carrier to pay the claim. Beyond that, sad to say, not much consequences would come from it. I see people with suspended licenses having accidents more times than I can count.

 

[clutter]

Just wanted to post a "thanks!" here. I was reading the thread, and I started thinking "didn't I get a license renewal notice a while back?" Yep! Just renewed my license that expires in 3 weeks!

 

[Kellykins1218]

I despise people breaking the law and, being me, I'd call every car rental place in town, give them her name & tell them about her suspended license and what she was planning. I used to work loss prevention & love catching lawbreakers.

 

[sam_gordon]

The one constant I've encountered every time I've rented a car is that I needed to present a valid driver license. As an example, I looked up Dollar's policies.

But a suspended DL (providing the person gets to keep the DL) has no indication it's suspended. So unless the rental agency checks (and what you've quoted for Dollar even says it MAY do a check, not that it will), there's nothing to indicate the suspension.

 

[aprilgail]

This, although in some states, they confiscate the license at the courthouse when it is suspended, so there is NO way she can rent a car with out the license in hand.

That is not fool proof either though- I have two duplicate drivers licenses. I thought I lost mine so I went online and ordered a new one, that came and then I found the one I thought I lost so now I have 2- one I carry around with me and the other I leave and home and use for traveling (its nice and clean and the one I carry around is raggedy) - so even if they took one, I still had the other- it would still be suspended obviously but still had a license in hand.

 

[Turn the Page]

Like other posters, I loathe people who try to pull crap like this. I knew a guy who had gotten a suspended licence due to a DUI and 4 years after the fact had still not gotten his licence back because he preferred to go to the casino every week rather than pay his fines off. At some point he decided it didn't matter and just started driving without the licence. He got busted twice and at that point I lost touch with him. I just couldn't stand being around someone that immature and selfish.

I truly don't understand why people do things like this.

 

[bcla]

Cool story, but different companies and countries may handle things differently. For example, Budget (the first one I looked up) will accept a traffic citation and library card in lieu of a driver's license depending on the circumstances.

"Will you accept any other form of identification in lieu of a driver's license?
Answer: In lieu of a valid driver's license, Budget corporate-operated locations in the U.S. will accept traffic citations or summonses issued by officials in these seven states: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. The citation only will be accepted up until the court appearance date shown on the citation or summons. A customer who presents a citation/summons in lieu of a driver's license is required to present a second form of personal identification with a signature on it. Any second form of I.D. with a signature is acceptable, such as a department store card, passport, library card or company I.D. with a signature. Rules at licensee-owned locations and locations outside of the U.S may vary."

That’s not renting without a driver’s license. In those cases, the citation serves as a temporary driver’s license. It says just that in the Dollar terms that I linked - “a traffic citation issued as a temporary license”. In some states a license can be confiscated by police as bail for a traffic citation, and the ticket becomes the driver’s license until the ticket is paid or the driver shows up in court.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-20140328_1_license-temporary-driver-photo-id

Unless getting ticketed is a regular thing for you, you might not know that in Illinois, your driver's license is generally kept as bail. You get it back only after you pay the ticket or appear in court.

That would change under a bill sponsored by Sen. Michael Noland, D-Elgin. Under Noland's bill, if you're cited for a petty offense, you'd simply sign the ticket — that's a promise to appear — and put your license back in your wallet. It's called sign and drive, and it's standard practice just about everywhere else.

For the benefit of those who haven't had the misfortune to have a police officer explain this to them: The paper copy of your ticket serves as your temporary driver's license. The problem in the post-9/11 world is that a driver's license is much more than a license to drive. It's often the only government-issued ID you have, and you need it for all sorts of things besides driving.​

It’s also not current for Illinois. They changed the practice in 2014.

http://wqad.com/2014/08/11/no-more-giving-up-your-drivers-license-if-you-get-a-ticket-in-illinois/

Previous legislation required a valid driver’s license to be posted as bail for certain traffic offenses in Illinois. Now, a motorist’s signature on the citation is their promise to either appear in court or pay the required fine on the citation.​

The only outlier I can find is that it’s legal for active duty military personnel to drive with an expired license in some states, and most rental car companies will accept both an expired driver license (there may be limits on how expired) with military ID.

 

[Klayfish]

That is not fool proof either though- I have two duplicate drivers licenses. I thought I lost mine so I went online and ordered a new one, that came and then I found the one I thought I lost so now I have 2- one I carry around with me and the other I leave and home and use for traveling (its nice and clean and the one I carry around is raggedy) - so even if they took one, I still had the other- it would still be suspended obviously but still had a license in hand.

But a suspended DL (providing the person gets to keep the DL) has no indication it's suspended. So unless the rental agency checks (and what you've quoted for Dollar even says it MAY do a check, not that it will), there's nothing to indicate the suspension.

Both of these are correct. It's possible to have duplicate licenses, and if someone does still have their physical license even though it's suspended, there is nothing on it to indicate suspension. Dollars' language is just put there as part of the legal speak...unless they have real cause to do it, they don't run a license check.

 

[RedAngie]

If she gets into an accident, she'd certainly get a citation from the police and perhaps her suspension would be made longer. The rental agency could deny liability coverage to her, so it would then fall back to her (or her mothers' if she lives at home) personal insurance carrier to pay the claim. Beyond that, sad to say, not much consequences would come from it. I see people with suspended licenses having accidents more times than I can count.

Practically every week on Judge Judy there is a case where someone was driving with a suspended license or no license, and/or without insurance, and/or driving a car rented in another person's name.

 

[tvguy]

That is not fool proof either though- I have two duplicate drivers licenses. I thought I lost mine so I went online and ordered a new one, that came and then I found the one I thought I lost so now I have 2- one I carry around with me and the other I leave and home and use for traveling (its nice and clean and the one I carry around is raggedy) - so even if they took one, I still had the other- it would still be suspended obviously but still had a license in hand.

Nothing is fool proof that's for sure.

 

[soccerdad72]

I'm thinking back through the times I've rented a car and I can't recall ever getting the impression that the rental clerk was "running" my license. Ask for it as proof of ID, check that it isn't expired, make a Xerox copy of it in case I steal the car... Yes to all that. But actually running it through a database, I'm not so sure.

That's what I was thinking too - I've always provided my DL when renting a car, but I do question whether the rental car kiosk has the technology to check whether or not the license is suspended.

 

[soccerdad72]

I despise people breaking the law and, being me, I'd call every car rental place in town, give them her name & tell them about her suspended license and what she was planning. I used to work loss prevention & love catching lawbreakers.

Based on the info that the OP gave, you'd really take the time and effort to try to bust a co-worker's daughter?

 

[Kellykins1218]

Based on the info that the OP gave, you'd really take the time and effort to try to bust a co-worker's daughter?

Absolutely

 

[jen0610]

Based on the info that the OP gave, you'd really take the time and effort to try to bust a co-worker's daughter?

Mom kinda said something along those lines. "If I knew where she was going, I'd drop a dime on her." DD lives 2 hours away in a much bigger town with a bunch of surrounding towns, so it's like 100+ different locations to call. Mom is hot over the whole issue. She is not happy with her kid at all. Like one of the other posters said, mom told her IF she gets a car but it goes sideways, DON'T call me to bail you out, it's NOT going to happen.

 

[soccerdad72]

Mom kinda said something along those lines. "If I knew where she was going, I'd drop a dime on her." DD lives 2 hours away in a much bigger town with a bunch of surrounding towns, so it's like 100+ different locations to call. Mom is hot over the whole issue. She is not happy with her kid at all. Like one of the other posters said, mom told her IF she gets a car but it goes sideways, DON'T call me to bail you out, it's NOT going to happen.

See, I can see a mom doing that. Mom's co-worker? Not so much.

 

[Marchand63]

This, although in some states, they confiscate the license at the courthouse when it is suspended, so there is NO way she can rent a car with out the license in hand.

Yeah but that's only if the suspension was court ordered. There are many states mine included that civil violations suspend. We can get suspended for nonpayment of any other license, electrician, contractor etc. Nonpayment of CS, non payment of excise tax, heck just about everything except parking tickets (unless it is a HP violation) gets you suspended.

Mom kinda said something along those lines. "If I knew where she was going, I'd drop a dime on her." DD lives 2 hours away in a much bigger town with a bunch of surrounding towns, so it's like 100+ different locations to call. Mom is hot over the whole issue. She is not happy with her kid at all. Like one of the other posters said, mom told her IF she gets a car but it goes sideways, DON'T call me to bail you out, it's NOT going to happen.

Love this, I would do the same.

Do they check licenses, yup. Do they check every time, nope. Will she get caught - can only hope. Is her friend an idiot if she assists her - absolutely.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah but that's only if the suspension was court ordered. There are many states mine included that civil violations suspend. We can get suspended for nonpayment of any other license, electrician, contractor etc. Nonpayment of CS, non payment of excise tax, heck just about everything except parking tickets (unless it is a HP violation) gets you suspended.

LOL. One of my friends in law enforcement told me once they even will suspended your license now for driving with a suspended license.

 

[Marchand63]

LOL. One of my friends in law enforcement told me once they even will suspended your license now for driving with a suspended license.

That is actually true here! My DS's BFF got an extension of his suspension for driving suspended. It's a small town & all the cops knew he was suspended, so of course being 18 & quickwitted at the time