Suspended Drivers Continue to Drive

Authorities say the number of people who drive with a suspended license, or with no license at all, is growing. One judge says offenders do not take the law seriously.

Four days a week at Duval County Traffic Court on Beach Boulevard, offenders step before a judge to enter a plea for driving with a suspended or revoked license.

They are people from all walks of life who authorities pulled over for one reason or another only to find the drivers had no valid license.

For three days, First Coast News observed traffic court proceedings and witnessed 49 people go before two different judges:

An unemployed woman who did not have car insurance and could not pay for a citation; an undocumented worker caught speeding who never could obtain a license to begin with; a man with a number of past of traffic violations which led to his driver's license being taken away.

Each sentencing carried a message from the judge:

"No driving means no driving!" said Circuit Court Judge James Ruth. "If you have a bad record, you could face jail time."

The penalties for driving with a suspended or revoked license range from a $200 to $300 fine to jail time and felony conviction.

Many of the offenders were accompanied by drivers and others stopped to call for a ride. Others never left court: the judges sentenced several to serve jail time.

Despite the potential consequences, of the 49 drivers First Coast News saw go before the judges, three walked out of the courtroom and into their cars and drove away.

In 2008, Florida law enforcement agencies cited 226,560 people for driving with a suspended or revoked license. More than 25,000 of those people were cited on the First Coast.