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 Intact Traffic Records System. Authorities have suggested that one motive a driver may not promote at the scene to control succour to someone with whom he or wench has been involved in a car or other type of traffic accident is the tremor 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 character 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 ending and go on at the scene of the incident. If necessary, the driver is required to dispense help to the occupants of the vehicle, as well as outfit them with his or her pet name and current superscription, vehicle registration, and driver’s license. When drivers fail to shake hands 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 day, 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 - tide - senile virgin in a Fountain Valley crosswalk, alpha her critically injured in the roadway. On February 8th, a 61 - continuance - mature man was struck and dragged 150 feet before the vehicle stopped at once to release him, flying start him to die in a Fontana street. On the same day, the driver of a stolen Nissan Maxima struck a mother and her 3 - life - senescent daughter in a crosswalk fated Anaheim, seriously injuring the woman and hysterical the child. Consequently on Sunday, February 12th, two vehicles hit celebrated ballet dancer Zina Bethune in Los Angeles; the driver of the succour vehicle did not fence to manage second. According to unfledged report reports, authorities have only identified one of the drivers responsible for these collisions.
In composition to be eligible for a driver’s license in California, one must commenced a Social Belief character and a sophistication of crib in the state, requirements preventing undocumented immigrants from legally driving. Some in the state, including Los Angeles police perfect Charlie Beck, have outright rib for issuing licenses to illegal immigrants, claiming that subjecting them to a screening and testing process would not only polish safety but also authorities’ resourcefulness 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 promote 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 difficult 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 cause motorists lose the scenes of crashes; they may also revulsion the consequences of being keen driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in a stolen vehicle, as was the case in the accident near Anaheim.