This warning is to both snowbirds and other frequent travelers. Envelopes for certain mailed official government documents carry a “Do not forward” notice. This little phrase can potentially get you into big trouble.

We recently required a police report involving our parked car. A routine check of my wife’s driver’s license revealed it had been suspended for “medical reasons” in February 2018. She had been unknowingly driving with no legal license for almost a year and a half.

At the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, we learned a letter had been sent containing a brief form to be completed by her doctor specifying that she was in no danger of passing out from low blood sugar level while driving; it is a routine thing for diabetic drivers every eight years. Because of the “Do not forward” notation, it did not follow us to Florida like all our other mail. It was returned to the BMV unopened. Because they did not receive this form back, they sent her another letter stating that in the absence of the form we never saw, her right to drive has been suspended. This second letter also did not reach us for the same reason.

The only up side is that she was not stopped on the highway in Georgia while driving under suspension. It could have meant a large fine or even jail in some states.

When you return home from a trip, it might be good to check to see if there have been any unknown changes in your driving or voting status before you wind up in debt, jail or disenfranchised for something you did not know about.

 

Harvey Versteeg

Augusta

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