CLEVELAND -- In the constantly crowded Cleveland Municipal Traffic Court, 25-year-old Robby Cecil faced a magistrate. Cecil was busted for driving with a suspended license -- and it wasn’t his first time.

"Looks like you got a continuance to show me your license and insurance," the magistrate said.

Cecil explained he didn’t have either and told the court he can't get a new license until he pays a fine in Lakewood.

Magistrate Pablo Castro gave Cecil more time.

Castro said, "I do give them time because we want legal, valid insured drivers on the street."

But, Cecil didn't wait for that. Just minutes after his hearing, Chief Investigator Duane Pohlman followed him outside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland.

After repeated violations for driving under suspension, Cecil walked out court, got in to a car and drove away -- again, without a valid license.

"People who are chronically driving under suspension have a very good chance of going to the workhouse. I mean, it is a crime," Judge Michelle Denise said.

Denise is quick to point out the crime but driving without a license can also lead to tragedy.

Setita Patrick, a 29-year-old mother from Detroit, was behind the wheel of a minivan when it slammed into a concrete barrier on the Ohio turnpike this past summer.

All three of her children were ejected. Two of them died.

Michigan driving records prove Patrick should not have been behind the wheel. She had no drivers' license -- but records show she kept driving and getting caught.

In Ohio, last year 1.5 million drivers had their licenses suspended. That's one out of every five drivers.

Cuyahoga County leads the state. Last year, nearly 300,000 drivers had their licenses suspended. That's one out of every three drivers.

And every one of those unlicensed drivers is a threat.

Increasingly insurance companies are denying coverage if the driver isn't legally licensed.

To combat the problem, Cleveland Municipal Court is bending over backward to give suspended drivers more time to get their licenses and be legal once again.

"So that they can be valid drivers because that's what we really want, so that it's safer for everyone," Denise said.

But even drivers like Cecil who are given a second chance to become legal continue taking chances behind the wheel.

Pohlman caught up with Cecil one more time in the parking lot of a cell phone store.

Cecil got behind the wheel once again.

Traffic Intervention Program (T.I.P.):

Cleveland Municipal Court

• 216.664.4458
• 216.664.4469

Related Links:

• Driver License Suspension & Reinstatement
• ODPS Online Services