Carrying driver's licenses across states?

> My DL was issued in Massachusetts ...
> I have a postal address in Texas.

On your federal tax forms do you use an address in Texas or in Mass.?

James

Ramon F Herrera wrote:
>
>
>
> Thanks to everybody for their answers. At this point I am arguing just
> for the sake of argument, as I decided to become a TX resident, and I
> already have the paperwork.
>
> I have the Texas Drivers Handbook in front of me and it says:
>
> "Who may operate a motor vehicle in Texas?
> (9) New residents who are properly licensed have 30 days after entry
> into the state to secure a Texas driver license".
>
> So, as Clinton would say: "it depends of what the meaning of 'is' is".
>
> The question is: what do they mean by "after entry"? Is that the first
> entry, the last entry? If I enter one day, and leave, coming back 3
> weeks later, does the 30 day chronometer get reset?

Read the legislation. It is quite clear:

§ 521.029. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE BY NEW STATE
RESIDENTS. (a) A person who enters this state as a new resident may
operate a motor vehicle in this state for no more than 30 days after
the date on which the person enters this state if the person:
(1) is 16 years of age or older;
and
(2) has in the person's possession a driver's license
issued to the person by the person's state or country of previous
residence.


So "after entry" means after entering the state and taking up residence. As
long as you maintain a residence in another state you do not need a Texas
licence, but as soon as you take up residence in Texas you are no longer a
resident.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:42:21 -0400, Dave Smith <adavidsmith@sympatico.ca> wrote:

>... as soon as you take up residence in Texas you are no longer a
>resident.

This law was drafted by then-Governor George W. Bush, right?

-- Larry

"J. Clarke" wrote:
>
>
> > Anyway, I'll just get the license since I have been spending longer
> > time around the Lone Star.
>
> If it becomes an issue then their lawyer is going to be arguing one date
> and yours is going to be arguing another and the judge is going to
> decide which applies.

Over the years that I worked in vehicle enforcement I came across several
situations where a driver had a licence in one jurisdiction and I was
pretty sure he lived in another. I never laid the charge because I had no
proof that he was not a resident of the issuing state or province. However,
there were a couple of cases where their licence from here was under
suspension. There are reciprocal suspension agreements, so if you are
suspended her you are suspended there, and it is a separate violation to
drive here with a licence from another jurisdiction if you are suspended
here.

Alan S wrote:
> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:16:17 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> If you have dual residency and this is going to continue for a long
>> period of time then you should probably consult a lawyer.
>>
>> However in practice unless the cop is "throwing the book at you"
>> it's a non-issue.
>
> If the law is anything like the law here - it will become a
> major issue if you have an accident involving injury to
> anyone.
>
> Then you are in danger of finding you were committing an
> offence "driving while unlicenced" with resultant risks of
> also becoming automatically uninsured and personally liable
> for major damages and medical costs and possibly even
> criminal charges.

In other words it becomes an issue when the cop decides to make an issue
of it.

> Consult the MA and TX authorities for a specific written
> ruling.

--
--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Alan S wrote:
> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:34:49 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>
>> Alan S wrote:
>>> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:16:17 -0400, "J. Clarke"
>>> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> If you have dual residency and this is going to continue for a long
>>>> period of time then you should probably consult a lawyer.
>>>>
>>>> However in practice unless the cop is "throwing the book at you"
>>>> it's a non-issue.
>>>
>>> If the law is anything like the law here - it will become a
>>> major issue if you have an accident involving injury to
>>> anyone.
>>>
>>> Then you are in danger of finding you were committing an
>>> offence "driving while unlicenced" with resultant risks of
>>> also becoming automatically uninsured and personally liable
>>> for major damages and medical costs and possibly even
>>> criminal charges.
>>
>> In other words it becomes an issue when the cop decides to make an
>> issue of it.
>
> No, not the cop. The courts and insurance companies; much
> more expensive than cops. by "charges" I meant money, not
> citations.

If there is no citation then how do the courts get involved?

--
--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Carole Allen wrote:
> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:08:40 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>> If there is no citation then how do the courts get involved?
>>
>> --
> If there is an accident there can be a civil suit.

> No criminal
> charges are required for a civil suit if he injures someone. Normally
> his insurance would defend him. BUT, if the insurance determined he
> was driving without a valid license (because he should have had a TX
> license), they might decline. Then he is personally on the hook as a
> defendant.

Do you know of a case in which this occurred, without the state charging
the person for driving without a valid license?

> As others have pointed out, most states have a specified grace period
> before which new residents have to get driving licenses and car tabs
> issued. He seems to be claiming some sort of dual residency - I
> wonder if his insurance company knows he has a postal address in TX
> and has been staying in hotels and with friends. Is he living there,
> or vacationing?

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Alan S wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:51:06 GMT, carolea7@
> (Carole Allen) wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:08:40 -0400, "J. Clarke"
>> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>>> If there is no citation then how do the courts get involved?
>>>
>>> --
>> If there is an accident there can be a civil suit. No criminal
>> charges are required for a civil suit if he injures someone.
>> Normally his insurance would defend him. BUT, if the insurance
>> determined he was driving without a valid license (because he should
>> have had a TX license), they might decline. Then he is personally
>> on the hook as a defendant.
>>
> Thanks. You beat me to it:-)

Do you have case law to present, or are you just playing Chicken Little?


--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Alan S wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:21:05 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>
>>>> If there is an accident there can be a civil suit. No criminal
>>>> charges are required for a civil suit if he injures someone.
>>>> Normally his insurance would defend him. BUT, if the insurance
>>>> determined he was driving without a valid license (because he
>>>> should have had a TX license), they might decline. Then he is
>>>> personally on the hook as a defendant.
>>>>
>>> Thanks. You beat me to it:-)
>>
>> Do you have case law to present, or are you just playing Chicken
>> Little?
>
> Are you for real?
>
> It was a comment added as cautionary, not alarmist, advice.
>
> The OP can and will do whatever he wishes. But in the real
> world it's not the cops you should worry about when it comes
> to licenses and insurance - it's courts and lawyers. Whether
> it's in your country or mine.

If in fact your scenario, that driving without a valid license became a
legal issue even though one had a license valid in another state and no
charges were filed by the police, has arisen in the real world, then one
should be worried about it. I just want to know if it has actually
happened somewhere. One can make up all sorts of hypotheticals, that
doesn't mean that they actually occur in the real world.

--
--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

sechumlib wrote:
> On 2007-06-20 07:21:05 -0400, "J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet@cox.net>
> said:
>
>> Alan S wrote:
>>> On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:51:06 GMT, carolea7@
>>> (Carole Allen) wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:08:40 -0400, "J. Clarke"
>>>> <jclarke.usenet@cox.net> wrote:
>>>>> If there is no citation then how do the courts get involved?
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>> If there is an accident there can be a civil suit. No criminal
>>>> charges are required for a civil suit if he injures someone.
>>>> Normally his insurance would defend him. BUT, if the insurance
>>>> determined he was driving without a valid license (because he
>>>> should have had a TX license), they might decline. Then he is
>>>> personally on the hook as a defendant.
>>>>
>>> Thanks. You beat me to it:-)
>>
>> Do you have case law to present, or are you just playing Chicken
>> Little?
>
> Do you have legal training adequate to interpret case law, or are you
> just playing Joe Authority?

So you don't have any case law? I thought not.

--
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--John
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