# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**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 9, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/101 "2018-05-09T22:24:50Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Suppose the young lady is an American, originally from New York, and she holds a valid New York driving license, which she presents to the Georgia cop. The cop talks to her, and she tells the cop that she is a student has been living in Tennessee for 6 months. Could the Georgia cop arrest her for not having a valid license? If so, what exactly would the charge be? > > IANAL, but I’m skeptical that a Georgia cop can arrest someone for breaking a Tennessee law (but no Georgia law), based solely on the Georgia cop’s suspicion. If someone breaks a serious Tennessee law and flees, isn’t the process for Tennessee to issue some kind of warrant? Actually, to strip this down even further to its essentials, suppose the young lady is from Georgia, and holds a valid Georgia license. She tells the cop she has been living in Tennessee for 6 months. Is she subject to arrest by the Georgia cop for not having a valid license? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/102 "2018-05-10T08:51:23Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > 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. Doesn’t a Quebec driver’s license have both French and English on it? Like the [Ontario license](https://globalnews.ca/news/1642279/ontario-extends-drivers-licence-swap-with-ireland/) linked to by **wolfpup** in post #80, I sort of thought all Canadian provinces and territories would have bi-lingual licenses. ---
**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 10, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/103 "2018-05-10T13:41:41Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I would answer that _Casino_ is just a movie, while this was a real-life event getting international attention mainly for its appalling stupidity. I would also point you to the comment in my [post #80](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20948179&postcount=80) from another Georgia resident, regarding the history of entrapment of tourists by the local yokels right in that area who are unfortunately currently allowed to enforce traffic laws on the interstate. To this specific part of your post, I will just point out that if you wish to avoid all states where small town cops target out of town drivers, well, enjoy your new country. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/104 "2018-05-10T13:52:59Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Doesn’t a Quebec driver’s license have both French and English on it? Like the [Ontario license](https://globalnews.ca/news/1642279/ontario-extends-drivers-licence-swap-with-ireland/) linked to by **wolfpup** in post #80, I sort of thought all Canadian provinces and territories would have bi-lingual licenses. New Brunswick is actually the only officially bilingual province per the Charter. However driver licensing is provincial so not every province’s license is in french and english. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/105 "2018-05-10T14:50:54Z")
> [@Sirreal72](#): > > Either laws are enforced differently in Canada, or (more likely) we are having a communications breakdown. Perhaps this quote states it better: > > “Cook County Solicitor Matthew Bennett told WALB the confusion came after Nield told the deputy she lived in Tennessee. If she were a long-term resident of that state, she would have needed to apply for an ID card or driver’s license for the length of her visa, Bennett told the station.” > [http://http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/viral-snapchat-describes-canadian-womans-arrest-in-south-georgia](http://http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/viral-snapchat-describes-canadian-womans-arrest-in-south-georgia) > > If you (a Canadian citizen) move to Georgia to attend grad school, then, as a new resident of Georgia, you would be required by law to obtain a Georgia State Drivers license after 30 days. You can drive in GA as a visitor on a Canadian license, but you cannot **live as a resident** and drive on a Canadian license. I trust you understand that part? > > Imagine I went to grad school in Ontario and the law says I have to obtain a Canadian driver’s license after 30 days or I am driving without a LEGAL permit. If I get a speeding ticket and they find out I have been living in Ontario for a year but don’t have a Canadian driver’s license, what will happen? I will get in trouble for that, right? If instead I was travelling and given a speeding ticket in Toronto and when they said, “where do you live” and I told them I live in Ontario…they are going to want to see my driver’s license issued in Ontario, right? If I don’t have one, then I will get in trouble for driving in Canada without a valid Canadian license. > > Is this really so hard to understand? The part you are failing to understand is that while this may be true in Tennessee, it has absolutely nothing to do with a traffic stop in Georgia. Sure, if the lady was taking grad school in Georgia, or was otherwise a resident in Georgia, everything you say would be true and your analogy with Ontario would make sense. But she isn’t, and it doesn’t. The actual analogy is to a US resident taking grad school in Quebec, who is stopped while visiting Ontario for a day-trip. What license would she have to produce? Let’s check the Ontario rules and see! [Drive in Ontario: visitors | ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/page/drive-ontario-visitors) Answer: she’s been in Ontario for less than three months, so - her US license! It doesn’t make the slightest difference if she’s been in Quebec for a year, and so perhaps needs some sort of additional paperwork in Quebec. Just like in the US, driving is “state level”. Ontario only cares how long she’s been in Ontario. This is exactly the same as in Georgia, according to the Georgia website. This Cook Country solicitor is talking nonsense - in that, it may well be totally true that the lady needs a Tennessee license in Tennessee, but (and this is the important part) the implication that the Georgia charge was somehow justified by that is, basically, nonsense. Really, what he’s up to is attempting to excuse the inexcusable, by citing completely irrelevant facts (that is, the situation in Tennessee) rather than saying, as he ought, “our bad, we screwed this one up, sorry”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/106 "2018-05-12T04:54:37Z")
What if the young lady is from Tbilisi? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/107 "2018-05-12T16:27:36Z")
> [@Sirreal72](#): > > “Cook County Solicitor Matthew Bennett told WALB the confusion came after Nield told the deputy she lived in Tennessee. If she were a long-term resident of that state, she would have needed to apply for an ID card or driver’s license for the length of her visa, Bennett told the station.” > [http://http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/viral-snapchat-describes-canadian-womans-arrest-in-south-georgia](http://http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/viral-snapchat-describes-canadian-womans-arrest-in-south-georgia) > > \ > > Is this really so hard to understand? It’s you who are apparently having trouble understanding. Failure to get a Tennessee license might be a violation of the law, but if it is, it’s a violation of TENNESSEE law, not Georgia law. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/108 "2018-05-12T20:58:34Z")
Until sometime last year, Israelis could drive in the U.S. using their Israeli license. (That’s a good thing, since my Maryland license is long expired.) At some point, the rules changed, and now we need to have an international license as well. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/109 "2018-05-12T21:44:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s you who are apparently having trouble understanding. > > Failure to get a Tennessee license might be a violation of the law, but if it is, it’s a violation of TENNESSEE law, not Georgia law. The missing part that may help Sirreal72 to understand: State or local police in Georgia have NO authority to arrest anyone for violating a Tennessee law. Sirreal72, if it helps you to understand, this is the same reason why many minor criminals would prefer to leave the country - the cops in another place have no authority to arrest them. ---
**Author:** ![Sirreal72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sirreal72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sirreal72)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/110 "2018-05-14T15:02:58Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Actually, to strip this down even further to its essentials, suppose the young lady is from Georgia, and holds a valid Georgia license. She tells the cop she has been living in Tennessee for 6 months. Is she subject to arrest by the Georgia cop for not having a valid license? Apparently. Would they be arrested? Probably not, unless the officer was suspicious for some reason. Logically speaking, what is the upside for a officer to arrest someone if the charges will be dropped? They have to do a ton of paperwork, deal with an irate citizen, irritated boss etc. Are Georgia traffic laws too strict? In my opinion, yes. But the police aren’t any more (or less) likely to be jerks as anywhere else in the country. This whole situation was an perfect storm of bad luck and circumstances. Some of the factors that seem relevant: 1. Driver gave another state where she lived. (Note: Being a student in another state isn’t considered being a “resident”, but if you live there 6 months after graduating then you aren’t a student and need to get a new license.) 2. She was pulled over on a road where police are far more vigilant about looking for suspicious behavior and with a significant amount of fake ID being given and/or identity theft. 3. Was her id in English? (Unknown…but if not, she was supposed to have international license.) 4. Driving without a \*\*valid \*\*license isn’t a traffic violation in GA. It is a crime. (Yes, that is draconian…but so are Super Speeder laws in my opinion. Talk to the politicians, I know I do.) Politicians want to give authorities to power to crack down on crime and are willing to trade others personal freedom for increased security. Welcome to post 9/11…the terrorists won. (We should have just killed the terrorists but otherwise ignored the security threats. Allowing them to influence our personal lives gives them a win.) But whatever. I am not defending anyone, I don’t care enough to have a emotional stake. I was just attempting to give a rational assessment of circumstances. If you are Canadian (or American) and want to trash the state in an emotional reaction, then enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Sirreal72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sirreal72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sirreal72)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755/111 "2018-05-14T15:24:13Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > The missing part that may help Sirreal72 to understand: > > State or local police in Georgia have NO authority to arrest anyone for violating a Tennessee law. Sirreal72, if it helps you to understand, this is the same reason why many minor criminals would prefer to leave the country - the cops in another place have no authority to arrest them. (Sigh) We are getting into the weeds here. She was not arrested for not having a Tenn. license. She was arrested on the suspicion of driving without a valid license. That is a Georgia law. Using your example, if a criminal fled Canada (or Mexico) to avoid being charged with breaking the law and came to the U.S. then they wouldn’t be arrested for whatever crime they committed in another country…they would be arrested for breaking the U.S. law of being in the country illegally. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-arrested-for-driving-w-ontario-license-in-georgia/813755.md?page=5)