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Audit:
RMV Slow to Yank 1,000s of Suspended Licenses
The Boston Herald
By, Hillary Chabot - July 10, 2008
Killers
behind the wheel and multiple drunk drivers were able cruise on Bay State
roadways long after their convictions because RMV employees were asleep at
the wheel when it came to processing the charges, a state audit found
yesterday.
Investigators
with State Auditor Joe DeNucci’s office found the RMV failed to yank
licenses of up to 9,000 drivers convicted of serious offenses such as
vehicular homicide between 2005 and 2006. “The Registry is the primary
agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of our motor
vehicle laws, so it has a responsibility to ensure that the public is
protected,” said DeNucci.
Rachel
Kaprielian , who took over as RMV chief May 30th, said she had already
convened a working group to address the issue. “There shouldn’t be
someone behind the wheel who isn’t supposed to be,” Kaprielian said.
“This is an immediate and pressing challenge for me in my new role, but
it’s one I’m taking very seriously.” RMV employees often couldn’t
process the charges because they didn’t receive them from courts,
according to the audit. The audit also found that once the RMV received
the convictions, the Merit Rating Board sometimes fails to enter those
convictions into the Registry’s computer database. Some of the derelict
drivers were able to keep their licenses up to four years after they were
convicted.
Kaprielian
said a working group, made up of employees in the court system, in the RMV,
and with the Merit Rating Board have already met twice to fix reporting
glitches and ensure motorists convicted of serious driving offenses have
their license taken away.