Keep license, registration up to date

by Spc. Sean Finch
U.S. Army Europe
Public Affairs Office

United States Army Europe officials are reminding drivers to be sure to renew their USAREUR licenses and vehicle registrations to avoid fines and penalties.

Officials said allowing licenses to expire is one of the most common traffic offenses in the command. Because the USAREUR license is valid for five years from its issue date, many drivers forget to check the expiration date.

Claus Hensley, a traffic clerk with the U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg Provost Marshal’s Office, said that driving with a suspended or expired license carries with it the potential for a criminal report that can even follow drivers back to their homes in the United States.

Driving on an expired license can result in suspension or revocation of the license.  Driving on a suspended or revoked license carries with it the penalty of having the license revoked for no less than five years – and possibly indefinitely, said Mr. Hensley.

“It’s also worth noting that anyone who allows someone to operate their vehicle without a valid license can suffer the same repercussions,” Mr. Hensley said.

“Those (drivers) I’ve seen get this offense state that they forgot or didn’t notice that the license had expired,” said Maj. Valerie Henderson, commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USAREUR.

Henderson said as a commander she is concerned that she has noticed a recent increase in driving offenses.  For example, there was an increase in drivers operating vehicles on expired registrations, she said.

“Most registration violations we hear about are on post and usually called in by military police or the Ponds guards (the civilian guards posted at the entrances to many USAREUR installations),” said Mr. Hensley. “For the first offense we will confiscate the (license) plates from the vehicle and the operator must rectify the situation before he can have his plates returned.”

If a driver is cited with a second registration violation within a two-year period, his license is automatically suspended for 90 days.