Clinic helps 300 Saginaw area residents restore driving privileges

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - Approximately 300 Saginaw area residents with suspended driver’s licenses attended the Road to Restoration program and took steps to safely restore their driving privileges.

The Michigan Department of State (MDOS), with state and community partners, hosted the first driver’s license clinic of the year in Saginaw on Wednesday, March 8.

This is the second year for the program. In 2022, the clinic served more than 4,000 Michiganders at 18 Road to Restoration clinics in 11 cities.

In 2021, new state laws lifted suspensions for drivers who failed to pay tickets or court fines, or failed to appear in court, for certain non-moving and other violations. While the new laws removed suspensions for more than 150,000 Michiganders, many must still take further action before their license is restored.

At each clinic, residents meet one-on-one with expert staff to learn what they need to do to get back behind the wheel and complete as many steps as possible on site.

“Thanks to our vital partnerships with private and public entities statewide and locally, we are able to return to Saginaw with this innovative approach to government service for a second year,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. “A valid driver’s license is essential for many residents who need to be able to drive to work, to school, to medical appointments, and to meet their basic needs.”

Benson said the Road to Restoration program is a model of accessible state government that helps those who need their services the most and meets them where they are in their communities.

U.S. Army veteran Demetrius Webb, of Saginaw, said he’d been without a license for five or 10 years before reading about the Road to Restoration clinic in the local news.

“I came in and I got details on what my record was,” Webb said. “From there, I took a test, I passed, and I got my driver’s license back. It will help me get to my cancer appointments and things of that nature. It’s going to be a good thing for me to be able to go by myself to where I need to go.”

Chantelle Davis, of Saginaw, attended the clinic and said she had been without a license for four years. After meeting with clinic staff, she was able to leave with her driving permit.

“It’s not good at all to not have a license,” Davis said. “I basically had to have chauffeurs and people take me around – my kids, my sister. But now it’s good because I can go on my own. It feels good.”

The next Road to Restoration clinic will be March 22 in Grand Rapids.

Additional clinics are scheduled for Lansing, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Downriver, Mt. Pleasant, Alpena, and the Upper Peninsula.

For more information about the program, to find a clinic near you, or to sign up for an upcoming clinic, visit their website or dial 2-1-1. Space may be limited and pre-registration is strongly recommended.

The clinics do not provide DUI expungement services and license reinstatement is not guaranteed.

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