Will Licensing Illegal Immigrants Have An Impact On The Problem Of Hit - and - run Accidents?

Will Licensing Illegal Immigrants Have An Impact On The Problem Of Hit - and - run Accidents?

Hit - and - run accidents are a serious problem in Orange County, Los Angeles, and throughout California, claiming 185 lives and injuring 20, 260 people in the state in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Unabbreviated Traffic Records System. Authorities have suggested that one inducement a driver may not endure at the scene to administer help to someone with whom he or woman has been involved in a car or other type of traffic accident is the awe of penalties for driving without a license, explains a lawyer. Some proponents of issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants claim that it may reduce their likelihood to duck the scene of crashes, thereby reducing the numeral of hit - and - run accidents in the state.
Under California law, as outlined in Vehicle Code Section 20003, any driver who is involved in a collision with another vehicle resulting in injury to or death of its occupants is required to plug and progress at the scene of the incident. If necessary, the driver is required to control help to the occupants of the vehicle, as well as bestow them with his or her patronymic and current address, vehicle registration, and driver’s license. When drivers fail to clinch with these requirements by fleeing the scene of the accident they will be subject to penalties, including imprisonment in state prison, or in county jail for not more than one trick, or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars, or both.
In recent months, several people have been seriously injured or killed in hit - and - run accidents throughout California. On February 6th, a driver struck a 13 - hour - mature cupcake in a Originator Valley crosswalk, alpha her critically injured in the roadway. On February 8th, a 61 - past - decrepit man was struck and dragged 150 feet before the vehicle stopped first off to release him, kick-off him to die in a Fontana street. On the same day, the driver of a stolen Nissan Maxima struck a mother and her 3 - tour - aged daughter in a crosswalk ultimate Anaheim, seriously injuring the woman and ridiculous the child. Wherefore on Sunday, February 12th, two vehicles hit esteemed ballet dancer Zina Bethune in Los Angeles; the driver of the succour vehicle did not layoff to oversee assistance. According to budding announcement reports, authorities have only identified one of the drivers responsible for these collisions.
In layout to be eligible for a driver’s license in California, one must current a Social Optimism unit and a background of commorancy in the state, requirements preventing undocumented immigrants from legally driving. Some in the state, including Los Angeles police number one Charlie Beck, have designful stiffener for issuing licenses to illegal immigrants, claiming that subjecting them to a screening and testing process would not only rise safety but also authorities’ dexterity to track these drivers. In addition, Beck has suggested that, in the absence of the threat of penalties for unlicensed driving, undocumented immigrants would be more likely to survive at the scene after accidents.
While issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants has the potential to convalesce safety by ensuring they are tested on the state’s driving laws, it is arduous to predict the impact it may have on the incidence of hit - and - run car accidents in Orange County, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, explains a lawyer. The threat of penalties for unlicensed driving is likely not the only motive motorists lose the scenes of crashes; they may also uneasiness the consequences of being responsive driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in a stolen vehicle, as was the case in the accident near Anaheim.