Coweta County

Thousands of Georgians may be driving with suspended licenses and not know it

COWETA COUNTY — Heads up! Many Georgians may be driving around on suspended licenses and not even know it.

A Lumpkin County mother is sending out a warning after telling Channel 2 Action News she got a letter in the mail from the Georgia Department of Driver Services on Monday, saying her license had been suspended due to a 2004 crash in Coweta County.

The woman who only wants to be identified as Nikki said a 14-year-old ticket she received was resolved a long time ago.

"It was put to rest. I did the community service, paid off the fines and got my license back," Nikki said.

She called the next morning and confirmed her license was, in fact, suspended.

"I had to call this morning and sit on hold at the DMV and sit on hold at the courthouse, so it was very frustrating," Nikki said. “They informed me that it was best that I stay at home, which led me to not being able to pick up my daughter from school, not go to work, not run around and get my groceries or get my errands done."

Channel 2's Alyssa Hyman started reaching out to both Georgia DDS and Coweta County to find out what happened.

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Hyman uncovered a computer glitch that's duplicating old charges; Coweta County officials cited a "technical error." The software system that the state court uses incorrectly sent old and previously processed records to Georgia DDS, even some duplicates.

Hyman learned many other Georgians may be impacted. The county said around 2,000 records were incorrectly sent to the state and they're working to fix the issue.

Nikki said she spent all day on the phone before finally getting her license reinstated, but she wants to warn others who may not have seen their letter.

“Either way, a glitch in the system does not justify them suspending your license over something that happened 14 years ago,” Nikki said.

The county said not every case resulted in a driver’s license suspension.

Here's how to check if your license is suspended.