civil traffic violations;
license suspension
According to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), all other license suspensions, including those for failure to attend TSS, are limited to one year or less. The only exception is the license suspension for failure to attend TSS as a result of a red signal violation.
Laws, 2001, Chapter 190 requires persons violating statutes regarding red stop signals to attend Traffic Survival School (TSS) if the person is not eligible to attend Defensive Driving School (DDS). A person is ineligible to attend DDS if the person has attended DDS as a result of a civil or criminal traffic violation within a two-year period. Failure to complete an order to attend TSS for red traffic signal violations, including those red signal violations that result in death or serious physical injury results in an indefinite driver’s license suspension until the person completes TSS.
MVD states that the indefinite suspension for failure to complete TSS causes a conflict with A.R.S. § 28-3473. This statute requires MVD to extend a license suspension for up to one year if a person is convicted of driving on a suspended license. The department bases the added length of the suspension pursuant to A.R.S. § 28-3473 on the previous suspension. However, if the suspension is “indefinite” for failure to attend TSS as a result of a red light violation, MVD cannot determine the additional suspension for the conviction of A.R.S. § 28-3473 until the person appears and attempts to reinstate the driving privilege. At this time the person may be otherwise eligible, but MVD must inform them that additional suspension time must be served. HB 2505 resolves this issue by capping the license suspension for failure to attend TSS for a red signal violation to one year.