A driver's license suspension can derail a person's life, and in North Carolina, a large number of people are affected by the issue. Nearly 1 million state residents currently have their license suspended, either for failure to pay fees or failure to appear in court after a suspension.

Monet Shum, research assistant at the Duke University School of Law, said there are many reasons why people miss court, including not receiving a notice to appear or a lack of transportation or child care.

"Most people in North Carolina here require a car to get to work, take their kids to school, go to medical appointments or buy groceries," Shum pointed out. "Public transportation is limited in many parts of the state, with intracity transportation limited to larger cities and intercity transportation also limited."

Shum noted thousands of North Carolinians go years without a driver's license because of such barriers. She added research has found failure to comply cases take an average of 2.5 years to resolve and failure to appear cases takes more than four years to resolve in the state.

Lacking a license is an even greater hurdle for justice-involved individuals.

Greg Singleton, dean of academic programs for the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rocky Mount, has personal experience with the issue. He spent nearly five years incarcerated and did not have a license when he got out. Transportation from the transitional housing where he lived was inaccessible and he did not have enough money to renew his license.

Singleton said he made a choice which could have landed him back behind bars.

"When you're in a desperate state, you will make bad decisions," Singleton explained. "At the same time I'm trying to get my life in order, I'm trying to get some income coming in. So I drove the car anyway, praying every tire roll that I did not get stopped by the police."

A court reminder system, eligibility standards for fees and fines, and a change to North Carolina law ending license suspensions for failure to pay or appear in court are all potential solutions legal advocates have identified. Singleton stressed it is important for a spotlight to be placed on the issue.

"We have to keep talking about this," Singleton urged. "We have to have the conversations with those at the local level that can make a difference."