Thread: S.C.: Human cost of unlicensed drivers

You'd never see an article like this in Mexifornia.
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Human cost of unlicensed drivers
Growing list of South Carolinians killed by unlicensed drivers, some illegal immigrants, fuels debate for tougher laws

By Noah Haglund , Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier
Monday, June 16, 2008

FILE/Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

The human cost
In addition to the recent death of Smokey Bones bartender Steven Rand Rouvet, here are examples of the lives lost on South Carolina roadways to wrecks involving unlicensed, immigrant drivers:

Bluffton, May 18, 2008:

Federal authorities were investigating the immigration status of a man accused of driving drunk in a crash that killed high school senior Josh George, 17, as he headed home from the prom, The Island Packet newspaper reported. Juan Rodriquez, 20, was charged with felony DUI involving a death. Immigration officials did not say if Rodriquez was in the U.S. legally. There were conflicting reports about his name and whether he was from Honduras or Mexico.

Moncks Corner, July 13, 2006:

Moncks Corner Town Planner Michael Mitchum was killed when an unlicensed driver ran into him as he was getting out of his car to inspect a job site. Authorities said Jonise Kelvin, then 18, was at the wheel of the work van that hit Mitchum. Kelvin was charged with driving without a S.C. license and involuntary manslaughter. Kelvin told authorities through an interpreter that he is from Honduras. The Highway Patrol said Kelvin had no driver's license and limited driving experience. The State Department of Corrections said Kelvin served one year in prison for involuntary manslaughter and was turned over to immigration officials.

Myrtle Beach, Oct. 13, 2005:

Joyce Dargan, 57, was hit and killed when she walked to her mailbox in Restaurant Row, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported. Authorities said two teen boys were racing their cars when one swerved off the road and struck Dargan. The boys, 14 and 15 at the time, were sentenced to up to six years in juvenile prison. Both were illegal immigrants who later could be deported. The boy whose car struck Dargan had been stopped for traffic violations twice in the six weeks before her death.

COLUMBIA—Recent accidents, some involving illegal immigrants, have captured the attention of the community and have lawmakers talking about what to do about unlicensed drivers.

From 2001 to 2005, 807 fatal accidents in South Carolina are believed to have involved unlicensed drivers, according to AAA Carolinas. It's unclear how many of those accidents were caused by illegal immigrants.

Regardless of the reasons they don't have licenses, unlicensed drivers are among the greatest safety threats on the highways, said Carol Gifford, public relations manager for AAA Carolinas, which released the "Unlicensed to Kill" study in March.

"The state needs to prevent unlicensed drivers from driving, but that is very difficult to do," she said.

Earlier this month, Smokey Bones bartender Steven Rand Rouvet, 21, was killed in an early-morning hit-and-run crash near North Charleston. Four days later, Highway Patrol troopers charged Jesus Magana, an illegal immigrant with no driver's license, with leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.

Many fatal hit-and-run and drunk-driving crashes don't involve illegal immigrants, though the ones that do have attracted a lot of attention. The state averages more than 1,000 traffic fatalities each year.

And the growing list of South Carolinians killed by unlicensed, illegal immigrant drivers has helped drive the debate as the Legislature passed a new broad reform law that went into effect earlier this month.

But more work is left to be done.

"I would love to throw the book at illegal immigrants who are here driving on our highways," said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Larry Grooms, a Bonneau Republican.

The problem: The issue of unlicensed drivers, illegal immigrants and state law is a tangled mess. It is muddied by such situations as how to handle licensed drivers who leave home without their photo ID, or foreign tourists who visit Charleston. The federal government is so overwhelmed with immigration issues that it isn't much help, either.

Rep. Chip Limehouse, a Charleston Republican, thinks the solution comes in part by the Legislature strengthening penalties for drivers who are not licensed.

"We need to put those people behind bars," Limehouse said.

The minimum fine for unlicensed drivers is $232.50 for a first offense. It's $647.50 for those who get caught driving with a suspended license.

Limehouse added that the state's new immigration law is a start. It allows judges to consider immigration status when setting bail and attempts to stop illegal workers from finding jobs. Without work, the illegal immigrants won't be able to stay here.

The new law also seeks an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to let the state enforce the federal laws.

Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat, said the penalties won't serve as an effective deterrent.

"We have capital punishment in South Carolina, and that doesn't stop people in South Carolina from committing murder," Ford said.

He said the state should consider giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses. At least then, he said, they would be required to know the rules of the road.

"I think what's happening now, people want to make it so hard on illegal immigrants, they don't understand the consequences of their actions," Ford said. "People will be driving without knowing anything about the traffic laws. We don't know anything about true blue-blooded Americans driving without a license."

Many agree that the biggest part of the problem is not knowing how many people are driving unlicensed, and who they are. It's obviously more than illegal immigrants, and it includes drunken drivers who have lost their licenses and who continue to hit the roads.

"If your license is suspended and you're taking a chance, there aren't any laws to solve that. You're going to roll the dice," Ford said.

One effective approach is to immobilize or impound vehicles if drivers have had their licenses taken away, AAA's Gifford said. State officials need to have more control over licensing, license status and some vehicle-based sanctions, she said.

Grooms said the Transportation Committee has begun work on sorting through state law when it comes to driver's licensing and penalties.

"It is a problem and it is something the Transportation Committee will spend a great deal of time on," Grooms said. "We're going to go through this law and find out where loopholes are. But we want to make sure there are no unintended consequences of strengthening our laws.

"We'll make sure the penalties are appropriate for the lawbreakers."

The changes can't come soon enough, Hanahan police Lt. Mike Fowler said. Unlicensed drivers, specifically Hispanics who are believed to be illegal immigrants, are an issue the police in Hanahan face every day, Fowler said.

In the last week, Hanahan police arrested 14 unlicensed drivers, 13 of whom were Hispanic without proper identification, Fowler said. He noted that lack of federal cooperation leaves local police with no real way of knowing who is here legally.

Unlicensed drivers exist in every demographic, Fowler said, but the problem is compounded by those police believe to be illegal immigrants who sometimes flee the country before they can be prosecuted or never show up for court and slip back into the community.

"We had one Hispanic woman run a red light, weaving all over traffic, the officer thought she was drunk," Fowler said. "She wasn't drunk. She just didn't know how to drive."

www.charleston.net

Excuse me. Just because you have a license doesn't make you a good driver. If the argument here is that illegals need to have licenses to drive it is wrong. Many illegals have licenses, but that doesn't a good driver make. I use to live in Indio, Ca and many can't drive no matter how many licenses they have.

We had one Hispanic woman run a red light, weaving all over traffic, the officer thought she was drunk," Fowler said. "She wasn't drunk. She just didn't know how to drive."

This is the mentality of these people. They are going to drive regardless of what the law says or who they harm.

Here's an idea. Stop giving illegals a free pass when they violate our laws and deport any illegal who is apprehended for driving without a valid license. Illegals will continue to drive so long as they do not have to face the consequences for their actions, which is currently the case.

Illegals have no respect for our laws because we do not hold them accountable. For an illegal, holding them accountable includes deportation.

It's that simple...

Are all these illegals signed up for Selective Service in these accidents? My son is! This should be the main checking data base immediately enforced everywhere.

Five years imprisonment and/or $250,000 penalty. And employers and property owner who are selling and/or hiding illegals in any form should be held to the same punishment.

First, every employers and property owner who rents or sells, should be required to check this information for the federal and state government. It is an yes or no question. Retroactive checking should be done immediately of selective service. No individual should get a free pass!

For property owners, question could require by law, the renter has to provide information about all tenants in or on a property in reference to the selective service. And the property owner is not to ignore people on his or her property. Not knowing and not checking should be unlawful and punishable under the law just as strict as the selective service law above.

Then the government should check via personal data that you are who you say you are. Name, date of birth, social security number and picture id should match data base. If you have been in the military they know all this on you, already.

Even American children via passports are linked to parents of prior military. Come on Americans we have no right to privacy, but the illegals do!

Anyone owning more than two vehicles in a state should be checked for who is using their vehicle on the road. The insurance companies can monitor this for the states. Insurance gets help from the federal government when they need a bail out and they should have to be accountable for the illegal problems, too.

This could be done via Social Security Numbers and court records that I bet all or most insurance companies already have. So individual who permit illegal aliens to drive on their insurance should face the penalty of the law as strict as selective service law.

Government enforce our LAWS!