# Woman arrested for driving w/Ontario license in Georgia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 7, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755 "2018-05-07T14:42:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/61 "2018-05-08T14:56:16Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If that’s true, isn’t that a problem for her? Usually you have to obtain a local driver’s license within a fairly short time if living somewhere. Not as a student with an F1 visa. Legally you’re still a resident of your home country. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/62 "2018-05-08T14:57:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That’s true, though we don’t know the circumstances – maybe she didn’t have a car there and was driving down to move out (she had completed her degree). But if she did fail to get a Tennessee license as required in Tennessee, this should not be a concern in Georgia. It would still make her unlicensed in the US. From your own cite in post 13 “If you become a resident instead of a visitor to the United States then the state in which you reside will normally require you to exchange your Canadian license for a state license.” As a resident of the US without a US drivers license I’m not sure why at this point they dropped the charges. Other than the bad publicity. In my state being unlicensed is a minor charge and not nearly as serious as driving while suspended. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/63 "2018-05-08T15:00:01Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Not as a student with an F1 visa. Legally you’re still a resident of your home country. The does not mean you are not required to get a local license. I have never once had a foreign student attempt to use a foreign license. They all know to get a NJ license. And I have dealt with students from all over the world. Whenever I get presented a foreign license it never been a college student and they usually can be cited for being unlicensed. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/64 "2018-05-08T15:16:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Not just in Georgia. In many states you can get arrested for motor vehicle violations. > > On cop discussion board I was reading about this case. She shouldn’t have been cited for no license but it’s pretty standard to arrest someone for a motor vehicle violation with a foreign or even out of state license … > [@Loach](#): > > What would an agreement with Canada do? The recourse for not showing up for a ticket is a bench warrant. No one is going to extradite for a traffic ticket from the next state let alone from another country. No, no one is going to extradite for a traffic ticket. But various kinds of [reciprocal agreements exist](https://www.yorkregion.com/shopping-story/5791119-legal-matters-you-can-t-escape-a-traffic-violations-even-in-the-u-s-/) between most Canadian provinces and US states such that the local jurisdiction imposes penalties and sanctions for offenses committed in the other. Ontario appears to have reciprocal agreements with 41 states (Georgia not included) regarding court judgments rendered with respect to motor vehicle offenses, which I take to at least allow the possibility, in the absence of more specific agreements, for the offender’s license to be suspended or plate renewal refused for failure to pay a traffic fine assessed in those states. In any case it seems incredibly draconian to arrest someone for a minor traffic offense just because they are out of state, which apparently involves fingerprinting and a permanent arrest record – even without those reciprocal agreements. I’ve never heard of that happening here. In fact when my brother got back to Ontario from living in California, he was pulled over for some traffic offense while he still had his California driver’s license. Far for being thrown in jail, the cop said “well, we wouldn’t want to be ticketing our visitors, now, would we?” and let him off. Mind you, this isn’t Georgia or Mississippi. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/65 "2018-05-08T15:25:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In any case it seems incredibly draconian to arrest someone for a minor traffic offense just because they are out of state, which apparently involves fingerprinting and a permanent arrest record – even without those reciprocal agreements. I don’t disagree. 20 years ago it was possible to get a motor vehicle warrant here but it had to be for a serious offense and you had to justify it with showing there were multiple failure to appear offenses on the driver’s record. Now it requires a call to a judge who is not going to grant it. It’s got to be 15 years since I’ve seen a traffic arrest for anything other than DWI. The concept is strange to me. You either get a ticket or not and you are sent on your way. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/66 "2018-05-08T16:26:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It would still make her unlicensed in the US. From your own cite in post 13 > > “If you become a resident instead of a visitor to the United States then the state in which you reside will normally require you to exchange your Canadian license for a state license.” > > As a resident of the US without a US drivers license I’m not sure why at this point they dropped the charges. Other than the bad publicity. In my state being unlicensed is a minor charge and not nearly as serious as driving while suspended. The requirements, it appears, go by state. Georgia, it appears, has only two categories: (1) foreigners who are passing through; and (2) foreigners who establish residency (are staying for school, business or work )in Georgia. From: > **[Information for Non-US Citizens](https://dds.georgia.gov/information-non-us-citizens)** > > Information for Non-US Citizens wishing to drive in the state of Georgia. > [@](#): > > Information for Non-US Citizens > > Non-US citizens holding a valid foreign driver’s license are allowed to drive in the state of Georgia for tourism or business purposes. In the case of a driver license issued by the driver’s licensing authority of a foreign country, a law officer may consult such person’s passport or visa to verify the validity of such license, if available. > > If a non-US citizen establishes residency in Georgia, he or she must obtain a Georgia driver’s license within thirty (30) days. A non-US citizen would be considered a resident of Georgia if he or she meets any of the following criteria: > > •If a person accepts employment or engages in trade in Georgia, and enrolls his or her children in private or public school within ten days after the commencement of employment; or > > •If a person has been present in the state for 30 or more days. This lady may have established residency _in another state_, but that is the business of that other state - it may be she is in violation of that other state’s laws. However, she has clearly not established residency in Georgia, so as far as the laws of this state are concerned, she’s a “non-US citizen” and her license is valid (if it is a valid license). This explains why the courts in Georgia, quite correctly, dropped all charges: she wasn’t breaking Georgia laws, which apparently care nothing about whether she’s established residency in another state of the union or not. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/67 "2018-05-08T16:46:08Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So, presuming this was a shakedown, the technical legal cover for this is that _anyone_ can get arrested and jailed for speeding. And they can choose to enforce this if someone has a license they don’t like the look of, even if the license is valid. > . Well, I wouldnt be sure. In CA at least a speeding ticket is definitely not a crime, it is a infraction. You can’t get a jury trail, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/68 "2018-05-08T17:36:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think I would rely on the US Customs website quoted by **Lord Feldon** rather than a private law firm. Presumably the Customs folk know the requirements. And one would think that a trained law enforcement officer in Georgia would know the law, too, but there you go … ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/69 "2018-05-08T17:45:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I’ve told this story before, but it seems to fit here too. > > A high school friend of mine spent 3-1/2 years in Alaska, while her Air Force meteorologist husband was stationed in Fairbanks. His next duty station was in San Antonio Texas. > > My friend went to the Texas DMV to get a Texas dirver’s license. She was told about all the documentation she would need, and the written and driving tests she would have to take. She was surprised as it had never been that complcated with other moves. > > When she asked “Why?” the clerk told her they didn’t accept foreign driver’s licenses. Stunned, my friend gently explained to the clerk that Alaska was a US state, but the clerk refused to believe her. The supervisor even seemed suspicious but didn’t want to hassle, so the Texas license was obtained. Maybe some Texans have never gotten over not being the biggest state anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/70 "2018-05-08T17:46:53Z")
I say this to the young lady with peace and love: sue the pants off them and insist that any settlement includes the permanent firing of that asshole officer peace and love! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/71 "2018-05-08T18:32:16Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Have you driven across the land border since passports were required for Canadian visitors? I’ve done this literally hundreds of times since 9/11, and never seen an I-94. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/72 "2018-05-08T18:40:10Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think I would rely on the US Customs website quoted by **Lord Feldon** rather than a private law firm. Presumably the Customs folk know the requirements. I wouldn’t bet on it. CBP makes mistakes all the time. I’ve seen them admit people as tourists when given their passport with a work visa in it. I’ve seen them admit infants as the primary employee on a work visa (rather than in the appropriate dependent category). Among many many other errors. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/73 "2018-05-08T18:41:26Z")
As you may know, the driver’s license issued by Québec is written in French. It does have a picture, the person’s full name, address, etc., and any reasonable person would recognise it as a driver’s license, but of course the words “Driver’s license” are not there: it says “Permis de conduire”, and so on. Around 2013, police officers in Georgia started rejecting these licenses as invalid. There are quite a few people who drive up and down I-95 every winter, so this was a big deal up here. Authorities in Georgia said that an International Driving Permit was required if the license was not in English, so people had to buy one of those every year, just because they would be crossing Georgia on their way to Florida. The situation was [supposedly resolved](https://www.caaquebec.com/en/news/news/article/idp-state-of-georgia-follows-up-on-requests-from-caa-quebec-1/) in 2016. So it’s not like Georgia police officers have never heard of Canadian drivers before. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/74 "2018-05-08T19:01:12Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The requirements, it appears, go by state. > > Georgia, it appears, has only two categories: > > (1) foreigners who are passing through; and > > (2) foreigners who establish residency (are staying for school, business or work )in Georgia. > > From: > > [Information for Non-US Citizens | Georgia Department of Driver Services](https://dds.georgia.gov/information-non-us-citizens) > > This lady may have established residency _in another state_, but that is the business of that other state - it may be she is in violation of that other state’s laws. > > However, she has clearly not established residency in Georgia, so as far as the laws of this state are concerned, she’s a “non-US citizen” and her license is valid (if it is a valid license). > > This explains why the courts in Georgia, quite correctly, dropped all charges: she wasn’t breaking Georgia laws, which apparently care nothing about whether she’s established residency in another state of the union or not. Your interpretation may be correct. I don’t have specific knowledge of the law in Georgia. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, I wouldnt be sure. In CA at least a speeding ticket is definitely not a crime, it is a infraction. You can’t get a jury trail, etc. It varies from state to state. Many have a mixture of infractions and misdemeanors in their motor vehicle code. Though I have no personal knowledge all the cites I’ve read say speeding is a misdemeanor in Georgia. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > I say this to the young lady with peace and love: > > sue the pants off them and insist that any settlement includes the permanent firing of that asshole officer > > peace and love! She was speeding. That’s an arrestable offense in Georgia. On what grounds will she be able to get any pants in a settlement? She could probably get some nuisance money out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/75 "2018-05-08T19:02:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve done this literally hundreds of times since 9/11, and never seen an I-94. Just to be clear, that was simply an open question that nobody had answered at the time. It has now been answered and is not in dispute, thanks. For all foreign visitors, I-94 processing airports is now electronic; but CBP apparently still issues a paper I-94 to non-Canadian foreign visitors at land borders. So we don’t have a definitive cite yet for _why_ most Canadian visitors are not given paper I-94s at land borders. Is it because Canadians fall outside the I-94 system altogether, or because Canadian visitors (unlike other foreign visitors) are processed electronically at land borders? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/76 "2018-05-08T19:09:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > …She was speeding. That’s an arrestable offense in Georgia. On what grounds will she be able to get any pants in a settlement? She could probably get some nuisance money out of it. Yes, that was my read on the position, too. If you are arrested ostensibly on two charges, and one of the charges (speeding) is an arrestable offense but the other (no valid license) is incorrect, it’s hard to imagine how you have grounds for a false arrest claim. I mean, the fact that they can arrest you for speeding in Georgia seems like a bad law, but under the law as it stands I don’t see how this is a “sue the pants off them” situation, much as I’d like it to be. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/77 "2018-05-08T19:13:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The does not mean you are not required to get a local license. I have never once had a foreign student attempt to use a foreign license. They all know to get a NJ license. And I have dealt with students from all over the world. Whenever I get presented a foreign license it never been a college student and they usually can be cited for being unlicensed. Hmm. Either I’m misremembering and actually got a Michigan license, or Michigan had different rules 25 years ago than NJ does now, or I was breaking the rules without realizing it (was never pulled over during my time there). I have no idea which of these is the correct alternative. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/78 "2018-05-08T19:14:17Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Yes, that was my read on the position, too. If you are arrested ostensibly on two charges, and one of the charges (speeding) is an arrestable offense but the other (no valid license) is incorrect, it’s hard to imagine how you have grounds for a false arrest claim. I mean, the fact that they can arrest you for speeding in Georgia seems like a bad law, but under the law as it stands I don’t see how this is a “sue the pants off them” situation, much as I’d like it to be. And the speeding was the reason for the stop so you can’t disregard the entire stop as being improper. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/79 "2018-05-08T20:53:03Z")
Here is a [link](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/canadian-woman-said-she-was-arrested-jailed-after-ga-officer-thought-license-was-fake/85-549817648) to a local news station article. It includes the Cook County Sheriff’s office response: > [@](#): > > Interstate 75 brings approximately 1 million travelers through Cook County each month," the release said. "With those travelers, law enforcement regularly encounters individuals who are engaged in crimes such as identity theft and will have on their person a license that is not theirs or of those stolen or illegally reproduced. That is wht (sic) we follow Georgia DDS guidelines and request a passport or visa to verify their identity And [here](https://dds.georgia.gov/information-non-us-citizens) is the Georgia Dept. of Driver services guidance they reference: > [@](#): > > Non-US citizens holding a valid foreign driver’s license are allowed to drive in the state of Georgia for tourism or business purposes. In the case of a driver license issued by the driver’s licensing authority of a foreign country, a law officer may consult such person’s passport or visa to verify the validity of such license, if available. The “if available” addendum, as indicted in a prior post, does seem to indicate that a passport doesn’t have to be carried at all times - and certainly not a “hard copy” as mentioned by the CCSD statement. Bearing any other info unknown to the general public, this was handled very poorly by CCSD. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/80 "2018-05-08T21:48:40Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Here is a [link](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/canadian-woman-said-she-was-arrested-jailed-after-ga-officer-thought-license-was-fake/85-549817648) to a local news station article. It includes the Cook County Sheriff’s office response: … Thanks for that. I have two comments to add. [Here](https://globalnews.ca/news/1642279/ontario-extends-drivers-licence-swap-with-ireland/) is roughly what the front of an Ontario driver’s license looks like. It’s loaded with microprint, security features, and tamper-proof features; the holder’s photo appears _ **twice** _, a large version and a smaller identical one with additional tamper protection, and the holder’s signature also appears twice, photographically embedded in the plastic. This is among the reasons it’s considered trusted official ID for many legal purposes throughout Canada. I would love to have the Cook County Sheriff’s office explain how this could plausibly be a “fake” or belong to someone else. This is very obviously not something you can make on a laser printer, and the girl’s photo is staring the cop in the face. And “Cook County Sheriff” brought an “aha!” moment. This was not the Georgia State Patrol. Here is a comment from among the many that followed the OP article – this is just a reader comment, thus not authoritative, but interesting nonetheless: I live near I-75 in Georgia just north of Atlanta - a very long way from Adel, GA. That area has been known to finance their counties through bogus charges and fines, often intimidating the drivers into simply paying up. At one point it was so bad that Georgia lawmakers restricted all Interstate stops to the Georgia State Patrol. Sadly, at some point, they forgot how bad it had been and relented to South-Georgia legislators’ pressure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755.md?page=5)