CT.GOV-Connecticut's Official State Website



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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

HOT TOPICS:

▪ Interests grows in Connecticut DMV mobile app

▪ Connecticut DMV issues reminder, registration renewal requirements

▪ Editorial: Universal ignition locks would stop drunken driving

Story on…

Interests grows in Connecticut DMV mobile app

New Haven Register

Interests grows in Connecticut DMV mobile app

By The Associated Press

POSTED: 12/27/14, 4:48 PM EST | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO

WETHERSFIELD >> The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles says a growing number of people are using the agency’s new mobile app to learn about real-time waits at DMV offices, get information about DMV services and conduct practice tests.

First introduced in mid-September, the agency said about 2,165 users downloaded the app in the first month. Over the last month, about 11,930 downloads were logged.

The app is available for iPhones, iPads and Adroid devices. Links to the app can be found at dmv/apps.

App users can find practice knowledge test questions and answers, as well as a parent quiz on teen driver safety. DMV is adding a Spanish translation of the practice test and quiz.

DMV advises those preparing for a learner’s permit test to download the app so they can practice.

Story on…

Connecticut DMV issues reminder, registration renewal requirements

The Day

Connecticut DMV issues reminder, registration renewal requirements

Published December 27. 2014 4:00AM

By Day Marketing

Publication: The Day

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding drivers to clear up any outstanding issues with their cars before attempting to renew their registration.

The DMV says vehicle owners should pay delinquent property taxes and schedule any overdue emissions tests before renewing the vehicle's registration. If these steps are not taken, the registration will not be considered valid.

Melody A. Currey, commissioner of the DMV, says invalid registrations will present a problem if a driver is pulled over by the police. Punitive steps can include the confiscation of license plates and towing of the vehicle at the owner's expense.

"It is important for people to read their renewal notices thoroughly," says Currey. "Some will find important notices that can mean the difference between having a vehicle with a valid registration and a vehicle without one."

In addition to passing an emissions test and paying any delinquent property taxes, a vehicle owner must be current on their insurance and have no unpaid parking tickets for a registration renewal to be approved. The DMV will mail notice of the need to renew a registration about 45 days before the current registration expires.

Getting a municipal tax collector's stamp on the back of the return stub portion of the renewal application will provide proof that delinquent taxes have been paid. A vehicle owner can also get a special tax receipt from their municipality.

Notification for an emissions test is also mailed at least 45 days before the due date. Testing must take place at an approved location and costs $20.

A late fee may be assessed if a vehicle owner waits too long to get the test, and this fee must be paid as part of the registration renewal.

A renewal fee must be paid by the DMV's due date in order for the registration to be successfully renewed, even if there are no compliance issues. The registration's validity can be checked online at dmv/verifyreg. Vehicle owners can also check the status of their license at dmv/licensecheck and their emissions at .

The DMV says vehicle owners should remember that the registration is the middle portion of the license renewal, so this section should be kept in the vehicle.

Residents who change their address must also notify the DMV, as renewal notices will be returned to the DMV if no change in address is recorded. People with a vehicle registration, driver's license, or non-driver identification card should notify the DMV within 48 hours of any change of address.

Editorial…

Universal ignition locks would stop drunken driving

Hartford Courant

Universal Ignition Locks Would Stop Drunken Driving

By Editorial

DECEMBER 29, 2014, 3:08 PM

Among this year's holiday miracles is the fact that no one was injured by three egregious drunken drivers this month..

John Biehn, 39, of Southington, had a court appearance for drunken driving in Rockville on Dec. 15. After the appearance — the same day — he was arrested two more times for drunken driving and once for shoplifting.

A West Hartford woman, Jennifer Newton, 28, was charged with operating under the influence and other offenses after she sideswiped a Farmington police car at a traffic stop on Dec. 17 and drove away.

An Enfield man, Adam Puzon, 40, is facing numerous charges after he drunkenly crashed a flatbed truck into a fire hydrant and two utility poles in Hartford early Tuesday morning, according to police, then went on to strike three apartment buildings and a parked car.

If the charges are accurate, what in the name of heaven were these people doing behind the wheel?

They are hardly alone; police make between 10,000 and 13,000 driving-under-the-influence arrests each year in Connecticut. Nationally, drunken drivers account for 345,000 injuries and 10,000 deaths a year, nearly a third of all highway fatalities. The annual economic cost of drunken driving is $60 billion, says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's time for the next phase of drunken driving prevention.

Though they are still unacceptably high, drunken driving deaths have been reduced significantly in the past three decades by sobriety checkpoints, designated driver campaigns, mandatory seat belt laws and other programs — notably laws in many states, including Connecticut, that require people convicted of DUI to use ignition interlock devices that won't allow a car to start if the driver's blood alcohol level is above a certain limit (.025 percent in Connecticut).

A strong argument can be made that alcohol detection devices should be on all cars. The reason is that the police can't be everywhere and only a tiny percentage of drunken drivers are arrested. The average drunken driver has driven drunk 80 times before being arrested, and more than half of drunken drivers drive on suspended licenses, according to research cited on the website of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a coalition of auto manufacturers have been working since 2008 to develop newer technology that will detect when a driver is above the legal alcohol limit while posing no inconvenience to sober drivers. They are looking at both touch- and breath-based systems and hope to have prototypes in the next year. The effort should be encouraged; it could save thousands of lives each year. [pic][pic]

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Department of Motor Vehicles

60 State Street

Wethersfield, CT. 06161

Corporate and Public Relations

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