The Daily Standard
Story Archive
CELINA - Under a new policy adopted by Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman, a vehicle operated by a motorist found to be driving under suspension will be towed from the scene and impounded at the sheriff's office.
Previously, deputies had the option of issuing tickets to some repeat offenders and letting them go on their merry way. Incorrigible scofflaws, though, will now immediately feel the consequences of flouting the law, rather than experiencing it weeks later in a courtroom, as they're forced to comply with a list of requirements to regain their vehicles.
The move comes as incidents of driving under suspension, not to mention driving without insurance, continue to climb upward, Timmerman told The Daily Standard.
"To protect the citizens, the motoring public, from people who don't have a license and have no insurance," Timmerman said, explaining the reasoning for his office's stance. "So many of those coming in here are also uninsured, which I think is a terrible disservice to our citizens who are doing it the right way."
So far, 10 vehicles had been towed and impounded at the sheriff's office at 4835 State Route 29, Celina, since the new policy took effect March 1.
Quite frankly, Timmerman is fed up with motorists not taking license suspensions seriously and potentially putting the lives of others on roadways at risk.
"For years we didn't have a storage facility. … Now we've got room," Timmerman said. "One (impounded vehicle) every third day is about what we're averaging. I think these numbers are going to continue for a minute until the message gets out there. Obviously our goal is to put a stop to it. I would be happy if next year we don't have any but that's probably not true."
At one time, operating a vehicle without a driver's license was an arrestable offense, Timmerman recalled.
"A lot of times we just took people to jail for it," he said. "The law has changed, and only some of those suspensions can you go to jail for, not all of them."
In fact, there are 13 different types of driving suspensions, Timmerman pointed out.
"You can be under a 12 point suspension because you get too many tickets. You can be under an FRA suspension because you don't have insurance on your vehicle," he mentioned. "When you get caught, you could be under an OVI suspension. You could be under a child support suspension."
Whatever the reason for the suspensions, they're undoubtedly on the rise, Timmerman said.
Eager to curb the violations, Timmerman turned to the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office.
"We would get deputies that would stop a car, find out they're under suspension, and a couple hours later, they're back out driving again," he said. "So when I changed this policy, we went down and kind of copied off of what the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office was doing."
Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz also serves as chair of Buckeye State Sheriffs' Wrecker & Towing Services Policy and Procedures Committee, Timmerman noted.
"We went down and kind of asked him about the dos and don'ts, and what works well, what doesn't," he said.
Then, Timmerman crafted a policy that underwent review by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
"What we decided to do is anybody that's under suspension or has no operator's license, that we're no longer just going to write him a ticket," he said. "We're going to write him a ticket, we're going to tow their vehicle and we're currently putting them in the building out back here that we had built a year or so ago, impounding them into our evidence room."
Those found to be driving under suspension will have their vehicles towed from the scene by a local wrecking operator. The offender can either call someone for a ride or be transported by a deputy's cruiser to the sheriff's office lobby to wait on a ride.
"We had a meeting with the wrecker operators, and we all agreed on one set price for towing. So that way, we're not getting tow bills from everybody in different prices," Timmerman.
They settled on a $250 fee to tow a vehicle to the sheriff's office impound facility.
In order to regain possession of a vehicle, the owner must come to the sheriff's office and meet several requirements, among them presenting a valid driver's license.
"The owner of the vehicle has to come in," Timmerman said. "They have to obviously show proof of ownership of the car, they have to show proof of insurance on the car. They have to pay us back for the tow bill. They have to pay the storage fee that we put on in this policy, which is $20 a day."
No impound fees will be assessed on the weekends because there's no staff at the front window to accept payment, Timmerman pointed out.
Motorists driving under suspension aren't the only ones subject to having their vehicles towed and impounded, Timmerman noted.
A person who knowingly allows a person convicted of driving under suspension to operate their vehicle runs the risk of being charged with wrongful entrustment.
"You're going to be required to get your own vehicle even though (someone else) was driving it," Timmerman explained. "You as the owner have to come get it, and then we serve (you) with a notice. … It's called wrongful entrustment."
The notice warns that a certain person does not have a valid driver's license.
"If (a suspended driver) turned around and drives again, not only (is the driver) going to get another ticket, get the vehicle towed again, you're going to get a ticket for letting (them) drive your vehicle," Timmerman said. "I would say we're probably at 30% to 40% of ours so far have been wrongful entrustments - that the person driving under suspension doesn't own the car."
This very scenario has already played out at the sheriff's office during the brief period in which the policy has been in effect.
"A gentleman's car was towed in. He was under suspension, and the person who owned the car came to pick it up," Timmerman said.
While in the lobby of the sheriff's office, the owner not only had to go online to buy an insurance policy but also renew their license plates.
"As soon as we released the vehicle to her, the vehicle that she drove up here, she put the guy who was under suspension in the vehicle in our front parking lot," Timmerman related. "He pulled out on the road, got pulled over again. So we towed her second car right back into the building."
The evidence collection building can likely hold up to a dozen vehicles at any given time.
"It's an evidence room, so we do have other things in there that have evidentiary value, bicycles …, vehicles from the task force," Timmerman said. "If we become overfilled … the wrecker operators agreed that they would take the vehicle back to their shop for the same price, with whatever their storage fees may be."
Should the impounded vehicles remain onsite for an extended period of time, the sherif's office would have the ability to unload them.
"There is a process through the BMV that after a period of time of that thing sitting in our storage out there, that if the fees become more than what the vehicle's valued at, we can file for the title on a vehicle," Timmerman said. "That way, we're not hanging on to it forever. We'll either scrap it or you can sell it."
Overall, Timmerman doesn't see any downsides the new policy. He also thanked deputies for taking pictures and conducting full inventories of vehicles towed and impounded and the sheriff's office civil division for handling the additional paperwork.
"If somebody's upset about it, then don't drive without a license and you won't have that problem," Timmerman suggested. "It's no different than somebody in a basketball game complaining about a foul. Well, don't foul, then you wouldn't be sitting on the bench."
