An in-depth review of the Registry of Motor Vehicles continues after an investigation by the acting director turned up thousands of unprocessed out-of-state citations - some for drunken driving.
Drivers cited for OUI, more than 500 of them, have now had their licenses suspended.
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Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack says once the backlog of citations is cleared, the investigation will turn to the work culture at the RMV that allowed the documents to pile up for more than a year.
Pollack and Governor Charlie Baker addressed the RMV situation Tuesday while attending a groundbreaking in Freetown for the new South Coast Rail Commuter Line.
"The Registry is very much a service agency and we're focusing on that," said Pollack. "But it is also very much a safety agency. And clearly, we have to focus on that more."
"State government's a big place. But I said many times at the end of the day we need to be judged on how we perform and how we react and respond to new information as it becomes available," said Baker.
The RMV will now process out-of-state citations within a day and will pass along that information so registries have it instantly.
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