Thread: AL-Car-seizure law seen as help

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Car-seizure law seen as help
Sunday, July 29, 2007
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Reynolds says city could stop some unlicensed drivers

Rex Reynolds makes no claims that a tougher vehicle-impoundment law is the panacea for safer roads in Huntsville.

But it will certainly help, he said, and perhaps prevent accidents such as the one that killed four people two years ago at Herman Plummer Road and Research Park Boulevard.

Reynolds, Huntsville's director of public safety, next month plans to offer the City Council a proposed ordinance that would allow on-the-spot vehicle impoundment if a driver has no license. Now, police will release the vehicle to an authorized, licensed driver.

"What we're doing is trying in every way we can to stop people from driving illegally in this city," said council President Glenn Watson. "To flaunt the law by having no insurance, no proper registration and no driver's license, that's just way too much."

According to Huntsville police, citations for having no license rose from 2,258 in 2005 to 3,045 last year, a 34 percent increase. Tickets for driving without insurance jumped 37 percent, from 4,341 in 2005 to 5,962 in 2006. Driving on a suspended or revoked license also increased substantially.

Reynolds acknowledges the law might affect many illegal immigrants but emphasizes that it would apply to everyone. Illegal immigrants accounted for 1,400 arraignments in Huntsville traffic court last year, records show.

He wants to impound the vehicle of an unlicensed driver and allow only the registered owner to reclaim it after paying impoundment and storage fees. His hope, he says, is that the impoundment risk will discourage unlicensed - and probably uninsured - drivers from taking chances. Reynolds believes it will also deter car owners from lending their vehicles to unlicensed friends.

"If it's not registered to that person, he can't get it out of impoundment. It's got to be the registered owner of that vehicle," Reynolds said Thursday.

Madison Police Chief Daniel Busken is drafting a similar ordinance for Madison. The Athens City Council approved one that will take effect soon.

Proponents say the crackdown is largely the result of growing anguish of motorists who've been hit by drivers with no license or insurance. It's also a way to discourage illegal immigrants from driving without a license because their livelihoods would be threatened with a tougher vehicle-impoundment law, city officials say.

The city of Madison also has seen an increase in license and insurance violations. Citations for driving without a license or with an expired one jumped from 94 in 2005 to 358 last year. Insurance violations rose from 243 to 1,447 during that period, Madison records show.

The Alabama Department of Public Safety reports that one out of 10 drivers in wrecks in 2005 and 2006 had no license. Unlicensed drivers accounted for 26,089 of 255,022 accidents statewide in 2006 and 26,138 of the 264,043 accidents in 2005. Accidents involving unlicensed drivers caused 305 fatalities and 8,894 injuries over that two-year period.

Reynolds said the city's vehicle-release policy makes it too easy for unlicensed drivers to simply defer to a friend to take possession, only to reclaim the car, sometimes only a block or two away.

"We're seeing such a high percentage of people in accidents that don't have a license or are driving on a revoked or suspended license, it's very necessary to remove them from that vehicle, separate them from it, and have the registered owner come get that car," Reynolds said. "It's very critical to take that car out of possession of one that's not properly licensed to drive it."

A wreck Memorial Day weekend in 2005 is one example of an accident that might not have occurred if the unlicensed driver at fault hadn't been on the road.

Four people, including three from the same family, were killed at Herman Plummer Road and Research Park Boulevard when a car driven by an illegal immigrant with no driver's license plowed through a stop sign and broadsided their car.

He was convicted of four counts of criminally negligent homicide and turned over to federal immigration officials. The family is suing the city over the design of the intersection.

Huntsville attorney Clay Martin, who is representing the family, said Friday his clients were not aware of the proposed ordinance but support any steps that would improve traffic safety.

City Councilman Bill Kling said the impoundment crackdown is one way the city can tackle the illegal immigrant problem without running afoul of federal immigration laws. Kling said the measure should pass legal scrutiny because it does not target any group.

Rosa Toussaint, a local advocate for the Hispanic community, said Friday she hopes Huntsville police won't use the new rule as an excuse to pull over drivers just because they look Hispanic.

"I pray that they won't do it like that," said Toussaint, a Puerto Rico native who has lived here since 1985. "All I'm asking is for them to be fair. I have a lot of confidence in the Huntsville Police Department that they will do the right thing."

Undocumented workers need time to understand the vehicle-impoundment law before police begin enforcing it, Toussaint said. Posting fliers at Mexican markets and churches could help spread the word, she said. So could this area's Spanish-language radio stations and newspapers, El Latino and El Paisano.

Toussaint said some illegal immigrants might choose to leave town rather than risk having their vehicles impounded. Others might turn to taxis or carpooling to get to work, grocery stores and the doctor, she said.

Toussaint said she knows Huntsville police are under political pressure to crack down on illegal aliens. But unlicensed drivers who lose their car will have a harder time keeping a job and feeding their kids, she said.

"These children didn't ask to be born to illegals," said Toussaint, who serves on the city's illegal-alien task force. "We need to have mercy. I'm praying a lot for the city."


Times staff writer Steve Doyle contributed to this report.

Once again Alabama has declared they're not going to take it. I live just across the Chattahoochee River from Alabama and oh how I wish Georgia could learn something from our sister state. Perhaps when we rid the state of Chambliss and Isakson we can follow Alabama's lead.

Did I read that right..we have to "give them time to understand it".Give me a break....
How about a MAJOR fine for driving w/o a license....a MAJOR fine for driving w/o Insurance....a MAJOR fine for driving an unregistered vehicle....
We ...as Citizens...have to abide by all of this....here in Nevada...if you have no Insurance for even 1 day...it is an automatic fine of $250.00.