Mexican driving laws may be in-part responsible for many deadly U.S. accidents
On Saturday, police in Columbus, Georgia arrested Anthony Alvarado, 26, after he allegedly ran over his 18-month-old daughter in his driveway.
Alvarado has been charged with serious injury by vehicle, no state driver’s license, no state tag and no proof of insurance.
The little girl was taken to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta where she remains in critical condition.
According to police, Alvarado admitted to being in the country illegally and is currently being held in the Muscogee County Jail without bail.
Of course, this case is not unusual. Every week, there are reports from all over the country of illegal aliens, mostly from Mexico, maiming and killing people in automobile accidents.
While many of the cases involve drunk driving, a great number of them were seemingly caused by simple incompetence or a lack of driving ability.
But why?
An examination of Mexico’s driving laws may hold the answer.
As for DUI laws, only 15 of Mexico’s 32 states have legal driving limits for a driver’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).
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Those states are: Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Distrito Federal, Estado de Mexico, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, and Vera Cruz - .04; Chihuahua - .05; Guanajato, Morelos, Nuevo León, Oazaca, Quintana Roo, and Sonora - .08; and Colima .08 - .10.
See all countries’ BAC limits: http://www.icap.org/table/BACLimitsWorldwide
According to the United Nation’s Pan-American Health Organization, a total of 200,000 people drove under the influence of alcohol on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in Mexico City, in 2008 alone.
As to simple proficiency among Mexican drivers, the testing (or lack thereof) may provide the rather frightening answer.
In six Mexican states as well as in Mexico City, issuing agencies do not administer any sort of test before handing-out driver’s licenses. In these locations, one need only pay a fee to obtain a license (about $45 in Mexico City).
Three other states require the applicant to sit through a class, after which all attendees are issued licenses, while many other states give tests consisting of rather easy multiple choice questions.
And what happens when a driver is pulled over in Mexico, say for speeding?
The Mexican travel website travelyucatan.com ( Things to Know Driving in Mexico : TravelYucatan.com ) gives the following advice:
“Speeding is, as a rule, easily taken care of by offering to pay the fine on the spot. If you cannot pay on the spot, one of three things will occur:
· The officer will accept less money.
· The officer will accompany you to an ATM while waiting around the corner.
· The officer will take your driver's license and you'll receive a ticket. You will need to pay the fine to retrieve your driver’s license.
Sometimes the officer will simply let you off with a warning if you have a good attitude.
You will NOT be arrested.”
And, the result of such lax policies?
In October 2011, The Economist announced that 24,000 fatalities occur on Mexico’s roads annually, while another 600,000 people are injured.
According to the World Health Organization, pedestrians account for 21 percent of Mexico’s road fatalities. WHO | Working in countries
Such was the case in June 2008, when Mackenzie Maddox, 6, was hit and killed while crossing the street in a suburb of Milwaukee. The man behind the wheel was previously-deported Mexican national Jose Rodriguez.
As little Mackenzie and her mother crossed the street at S. 84th St. and W. Cleveland Ave. in West Allis, WI, the car driven by Rodriguez came speeding through the intersection, striking both the little girl and her mother Andrea. Mackenzie died at the scene and her mother was taken to Froedtert Hospital, her mother survived her injuries.
Rodriguez, who had four prior driving convictions including a DUI, had been deported back to Mexico only four months before the fatal accident.
The lack of standardized testing, the absence of drunk-driving laws and corruption all add up to make Mexico’s roads, perhaps the most dangerous in the world. Of course, as Mexican nationals make their way to the U.S., it is safe to assume that they bring their country’s driving experience to this country.
Mexican driving laws may be in-part responsible for many deadly U.S. accidents - National Immigration Reform | Examiner.com
