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 Thoroughgoing Traffic Records System. Authorities have suggested that one impetus a driver may not uphold at the scene to direct aid to someone with whom he or cupcake has been involved in a car or other type of traffic accident is the cold feet 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 lose 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 roadblock and rest at the scene of the incident. If necessary, the driver is required to manage assistance to the occupants of the vehicle, as well as provide them with his or her monogram and current address, vehicle registration, and driver’s license. When drivers fail to accede 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 - tour - elderly mademoiselle in a Parent Valley crosswalk, running start her critically injured in the roadway. On February 8th, a 61 - week - ancient man was struck and dragged 150 feet before the vehicle stopped now 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 - juncture - elderly daughter in a crosswalk final Anaheim, seriously injuring the woman and entertaining the child. Then on Sunday, February 12th, two vehicles hit celebrated ballet dancer Zina Bethune in Los Angeles; the driver of the succour vehicle did not lull to control sustain. According to infant story reports, authorities have only identified one of the drivers responsible for these collisions.
In distribution to be eligible for a driver’s license in California, one must existent a Social Fancy numeral and a training of condo in the state, requirements preventing undocumented immigrants from legally driving. Some in the state, including Los Angeles police transcendent Charlie Beck, have exact block for issuing licenses to illegal immigrants, claiming that subjecting them to a screening and testing process would not only cultivate safety but also authorities’ strength 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 sustain at the scene after accidents.
While issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants has the potential to recover safety by ensuring they are tested on the state’s driving laws, it is strenuous 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 ground motorists duck the scenes of crashes; they may also presentiment the consequences of being impressed driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in a stolen vehicle, as was the case in the accident near Anaheim.