Dealing with Big Brother

I love the government, and especially agencies of the government, like the DMV. Dealing with them can be an effort in futility. Here is my short HOW TO list for avoiding problems and/or keeping frustration levels low.

1. Read, read, and read again before signing. It is important when signing forms and agreeing to anything in writing, whether at the DMV or in Court, to check the dates, the amounts, the charges, and every other box on the document. I can't tell you the number of mistakes I see made all the time. Errors on documents can follow you and create a domino effect on a great many other things. I have had clerks put down the wrong charges on the final paperwork, and then the Albany DMV got the wrong charges (why are they always higher?), and then my client has the wrong charges on his DMV record for TEN years. (yes, DWI, ADWI, DWAI are all on your NY DMV record for 10 years). I have had Judges put down the wrong month on suspensions of driving privileges, and even the wrong year. Check, check, and check again, do not assume the numbers/dates are right. Hopefully, the attorney you are paying is reading and checking as well.

2. Keep perspective. I guess if we all lived out in the woods (far away from one another) we wouldn't need police, fire, roads, garbage pick up, and a government. Unfortunately or fortunately to run, stabilize, and organize the chaos of millions of people with varying needs we need organized laws, rules, and enforcement procedures. It is not good or bad, as I have to remember, "it is what it is." Complaining is not a defense. Unfair and unjust are conclusions not reasons. The facts must be evaluated, analyzed, and detailed to yield the big why? That is where a true defense comes from.

3. Learn what has to be done (mandatory) versus what is optional. You must report an accident with damages (police reported) to your insurance company. If you bump a car in the parking lot, and there is no damage or you and the owner agree to fix a small scratch, different story. You do not have to report your DWI or any other arrest or conviction to your insurance company if you already have coverage. If you are obtaining new coverage or changing coverage, you have a duty (an obligation) to reveal and not cover up your history.

4. You can get away with stuff but I do not advise it. People love to tell me what their friends and family get away with. You do not "have to" register your boat, or your moped, or pay your taxes, or a litany of many things. If you are caught you will usually face harsher punishments. So in the long run it pays to do the right thing.

5. Be nice to clerks. Those people working in the Courts or the DMV or any other governmental agency need to be treated with respect and consideration. A smile and a kind word go a long way to making your life much easier. They (the clerks) have the power and the knowledge to make almost any process go smoothly. Just the other day I was in a small town Court for the first time. A few weeks before my appearance, I called the clerk, and engaged in alittle chit-chat. When I arrived, she introduced me to the Judge, took me first, and gave me a heads up on how they do things in that Court. Suffice it to say, my morning went easy, my client was all smiles, and the hearing went well.

Well my psychology and philosophy for Dealing with Big Brother is part common sense, part common decency, and the rest, the knowledge that comes from hard experience.