A department of motor vehicles (DMV) is a government agency that administers motor vehicle registration and driver licensing. In countries with federal states such as in North America, these agencies are generally administered by subnational entities governments, while in unitary states such as many of those in Europe, DMVs are organized nationally by the central government.
The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license administration. The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. However, under state law, the Governor of Texas may assume command of the department during a public disaster, riot, insurrection, formation of a dangerous resistance to enforcement of law, or to perform his constitutional duty to enforce law. The commission's five members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate, to serve without pay for staggered, six-year terms. The commission formulates plans and policies for enforcing criminal, traffic and safety laws, preventing and detecting crime, apprehending law violators, and educating citizens about laws and public safety.
An office of emergency management (OEM) is a local, municipal, tribal, state, federal/national, or international organization responsible for: planning for, responding to, and dealing with recovery efforts related to natural, manmade, technological, or otherwise hazardous disasters by planning and implementing large scale emergency response plans/procedures, coordinating emergency assets during a disaster, and providing logistical, administrative and financial support to a disaster response effort.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining federal highways and Kentucky state highways, as well as regulating other transportation related issues.
The New Hampshire Department of Safety is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Department of Safety is under the executive direction of Commissioner of Safety Robert L. Quinn. The main office of the Department of Safety is located at the James H. Hayes Safety Building in Concord.
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws on the state's highways.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) or Arizona Highway Patrol (AHP) is a state-level law enforcement agency with a primary function of patrolling and enforcing state laws on Arizona highways. Their headquarters are in Phoenix.
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial vehicle regulation, but it is a fully empowered police agency with authority to enforce criminal law anywhere in the state. Also, they respond to emergencies on Texas’s highways. Highway patrol troopers are also responsible for patrolling the state Capitol Complex in Austin and providing security to the governor. The current Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Mathis.
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (ODPS) is a department of the government of Oklahoma. Under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Public Safety, DPS provides for the safety of Oklahomans and the administration of justice in the state. DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement, vehicle regulation, homeland security and such other duties as the Governor of Oklahoma may proscribe.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is the State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee, responsible for enforcing all federal and state laws relating to traffic on the state's federal and state highways. The agency was created to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of people in Tennessee. The THP is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
In the United States, driver's licenses are issued by each individual state, territory, and the District of Columbia rather than by the federal government due to federalism. Drivers are normally required to obtain a license from their state of residence. All states of the United States and provinces and territories of Canada recognize each other's licenses for non-resident age requirements. There are also licenses for motorcycle use. Generally, a minimum age of 15 is required to apply for a non-commercial driver license, and 25 for commercial licenses which drivers must have to operate vehicles that are too heavy for a non-commercial licensed driver or vehicles with at least 16 passengers or containing hazardous materials that require placards. A state may also suspend an individual's driving privilege within its borders for traffic violations. Many states share a common system of license classes, with some exceptions, e.g. commercial license classes are standardized by federal regulation at 49 CFR 383. Many driving permits and ID cards display small digits next to each data field. This is required by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators' design standard and has been adopted by many US states. The AAMVA provides a standard for the design of driving permits and identification cards issued by its member jurisdictions, which include all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and Canadian territories and provinces. The newest card design standard released is the 2020 AAMVA DL/ID Card Design Standard (CDS). The AAMVA standard generally follows part 1 and part 2 of ISO/IEC 18013-1. The ISO standard in turn specifies requirements for a card that is aligned with the UN Conventions on Road Traffic, namely the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
The Alabama Department of Public Safety is the uniform section of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, serving the U.S. state of Alabama. It is made up of three divisions: Highway Patrol Division, Marine Patrol Division, and Drivers' License Division.
The Department of Public Safety of the State of Missouri, commonly known as the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Missouri.
Bill Gibbons is the Executive Director at The Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis. Gibbons was previously Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security until 2016. He was appointed to the post by the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam. He is a former District Attorney General of the 30th Judicial District of Tennessee, which includes Shelby County and the city of Memphis, Tennessee. He was a Republican candidate in the 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election, but dropped out on March 26, 2010 due to "lack of sufficient campaign funds to go forward."
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is a statutorily established cabinet agency of Florida government. In 1969, under Governor Claude Kirk, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Safety were merged forming the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The agency head of FLHSMV is the governor and Cabinet, with authority delegated to the executive director. The executive director has functional responsibility for directing, monitoring, supervising, coordinating, and administering all activities of the department. The executive director ensures that FLHSMV's mission and objectives are being followed, pursuant to the Florida Statutes and Florida Administrative Code. The department provides oversight and services in partnership with the various 67 Florida county tax collectors for the issuance of driver licenses, the Florida drivers license handbook registrations and titling of automobiles, trailers, boats, and mobile homes. Florida residents who are at least 15 years old can obtain a learner license after meeting the requirements.
In the United States, the state police is a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, state police officers or highway patrol officers, known as state troopers, perform functions that do not fall within the jurisdiction of a county’s sheriff, such as enforcing traffic laws on state highways and interstates, overseeing security of state capitol complexes, protecting governors, training new officers for local police forces too small to operate an academy and providing technological and scientific services. They also support local police and help to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in serious or complicated cases in states that grant full police powers statewide.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is an administrative department of the Government of Mississippi, headquartered in Jackson. It is responsible for the state Highway Patrol and commercial vehicle enforcement; specialized investigations and controlled drugs and substances enforcement; issuing driver's licenses and firearms permits; and the state Capitol Police.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a department of the State of Minnesota in the United States. DPS is an enforcement, licensing and services agency that develops and operates programs in the areas of law enforcement, traffic safety, alcohol and gambling, fire safety, driver licensing, vehicle registration, emergency management and public safety information. The department coordinates the functions and services of the state relating to the safety and convenience of its citizens.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a state agency in South Dakota, United States. DPS is an enforcement, licensing and services agency that develops and operates programs in the areas of law enforcement, traffic safety, fire safety, driver's licenses, emergency management, and public safety information. The Secretary of Public Safety is appointed by the Governor of South Dakota.
Jeff Long is the acting commissioner of Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Before assuming this role, Long served as the Sheriff of Williamson County after his election in August 2008.
