Thread: Driving Without A License? No Big Deal In Maryland

http://wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=46014

Written By Derek McGinty 9 News
Created:1/17/2006 9:47:58 PM
Last Updated:1/17/2006 10:07:17 PM

When you were 16, you absolutely knew it was true: a driver’s license was the ticket to adulthood and freedom. But now, a growing number of Marylanders are riding the road to freedom without that cherished ticket. And one state lawmaker means to do something about that.

Get on the road in Maryland without first getting a driver’s license, get caught and what do you think happens? A night in jail? A day in court? As of now, neither.

Under the current law, its a $315 dollar ticket if you get stopped driving without a license. So there's really no incentive to get a license.

Maryland Delegate Luiz Simmons calls the situation public safety crisis, because you can pay that fine over and over again and never even see of a courtroom, much less jail.

People who drive without a license are five times more likely to be involved in a fatality than people who drive with a valid license. According to Simmons, over the last four years, police have pulled over more than 100,000 drivers for one offense or another who turned out not to have licenses.

Simmons says the DC suburbs are particularly hard hit, accounting a third of all the unlicensed drivers pulled over in Maryland. And remember, if the drivers had been pulled over carrying suspended licenses, they'd have been subject to up to a year behind bars.

Simmons has introduced a bill to even the playing field, calling for up to 90 days in jail for a first offense and a year in jail if you do it again.

But some are worried that it’s impossible for many to get licenses in Maryland.

Elizabeth Keyes is a lawyer for Casa of Maryland, an immigrant rights group that recently filed a lawsuit alleging the department of motor vehicles is making it harder than the law allows for immigrants, illegal or not, to get driver’s licenses.

Immigration supporters say they could back Simmons measure if it includes an exception that allows people to show documentation they had tried in good faith to get a valid license before driving without one.

Elizabeth Keyes is a lawyer for Casa of Maryland, an immigrant rights group that recently filed a lawsuit alleging the department of motor vehicles is making it harder than the law allows for immigrants, illegal or not, to get driver’s licenses.

Now come on Elizabeth, just how hard is it for a legal Immigrant to get a license. If they have there paper work. It really was hard for me and my wife, to carry our marriage license, her Green Card, her Chinese Passport, with Visa in it and several letters with her A# on them from HLS to show who she was. A really big burden. Get Real Elizabeth, if your an Immigrant or an American Citizen. You should know where your paper work is. My God they make it sound like you have to rent a truck to have proper Documentation.