Drunk Driver Loses License for 50 Years

A 30-year-old man who confessed to six charges of drunk driving will have to live to be 80 to drive legally in New Jersey again.

Computers at the state Division of Motor Vehicles finally caught up with Elie Rives Jr. this week. The result was an eye-opener even to officials in a state that has some of the toughest drunk-driving laws in the nation.

Rives pleaded guilty to six DWI charges stemming from offenses over a six-month period in 1983.

In addition to having his license suspended for 50 years, Rives must also pay $24,000 in insurance surcharges and $5,750 in fines.

State law imposes a six-month suspension for the first DWI conviction, a two-year suspension for the second and 10 years for each subsequent conviction.

That brought Rives’ total to 42 1/2 years. Another 6 1/2 years was tacked on for refusing four times to take a breathalyzer test, and a year was added for twice driving while on the suspended list.

But Clifford Snedeker, the DMV director, said it is unlikely that Rives--who cannot be found--will ever pay the penalties.

“What’s the rush? Would you pay if you weren’t going to get your wheels back immediately?” Snedeker said. “Anyway, let’s face it, the only way this guy is going to drive again is if he drives illegally.”