
No kid glove treatment for illegals who drive
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Well, time to fold up California DMV offices, forego the process of requiring all drivers to pass drivers' tests and paying license fees.

I mean, after all, illegal aliens want Ceres police to look the other way when they are stopped for violations and are found without a license and insurance.

So what's good for those who want to live here after side-stepping U.S. immigration laws ought to be good for the rest of us, right?

Imagine the possibilities. I'm giddy thinking about other laws we can ask police to give us a pass on. Take shoplifting, for example. Steal a package of steaks and ask police if they'll just look the other way and pretend like we didn't just break the law. After all, some of us are struggling financially so we should be able to steal food for our families, right? And I'd like to occasionally let loose on the open road to see what 110 mph travel feels like. Maybe I can ask an officer to put away the citation book if I'm caught disregarding the posted speed limit. That would be cool.

Of course, I'm being ridiculous to make a point. The audacity of Latino advocacy groups to ask police to not enforce the law that requires cars to be impounded if the driver is found without a license is jaw dropping. Laws exist for a reason. All of us law-abiding citizens know the value of having all drivers be licensed, to know the rules of the road, to comprehend signs and laws and drive safely since it's our wives, our children, our sisters and brothers and grandmothers and grandfathers out there on those traffic arteries. Roads do, after all, present the gravest danger to ourselves and loved ones.

According to "Unlicensed to Kill," a definitive study of the problem of unlicensed drivers published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, from 1993 to 1999, compared with licensed drivers, unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash; 3.7 times more likely to drive while impaired; and 4.4 times more likely to be in hit-and-run crashes. They almost always don't have the required insurance to cover damages caused when they collide with the rest of us.

Consider, too, that those of us legal drivers also pay our license fees, knowing that it's basically a tax to help state government maintain and build roads.

On Wednesday evening a group of about 500 persons jammed St. Jude's Catholic Church to waste Police Chief deWerk's time as he explained, hey folks, I'm sworn to uphold the law and this is what the law says. We tow vehicles if the driver is not licensed. That goes for drivers of any background as the law is color blind.

But, the advocates will tell you, illegals - they call them undocumented residents - can't get licenses because they aren't citizens. True, but actions have consequences, don't they?

I'm sure that a bank robber who escapes arrest after a heist would love to be able to go through life without always looking over the shoulder. Now I realize that crossing the border illegally and robbing a bank are different crimes, but hear what I'm saying. By virtue of the fact that they have done something illegal, they pay a price, the fear of being caught one of them. They can't have their cake and eat it too.

Those who complain about our laws being enforced should think seriously about how much better life will be once they go back to their native country, file for legal immigration, and become a legal U.S. citizen to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities that U.S. citizens enjoy. That way they are not always fearful of being caught and deported; or, in this case, being in perpetual fear of losing their car because they don't have a license to drive it on the roads funded by U.S. taxpayers.

I realize there's a political correctness of big cities in California to win over Latino voting blocks who brazenly ask for mollycoddling treatment as a result of their first act of law-breaking - being here illegally. But it's truly insidious for officials like LA Police Chief Charlie Beck to pledge to not impound the cars of unlicensed drivers since he's governing by fiat and only allowing law-breakers to escape consequences. So what if they have to leave their car on the street? Big deal. They'll just come back later and drive it off before the motor has a chance to cool and we'll still have an unlicensed driver on the road who doesn't care to abide by laws (refer back to crossing the border illegally). I could really care less why a person doesn't have or can't get a license; if you don't have one, you shouldn't be driving. Remember what unlicensed Larry Dale Duke did on Feb. 9? He plowed into several students, killing one of them. We simply cannot allow our roads to be driven on by people who have no business driving and no insurance coverage. It puts lives and property in peril.

Latino advocacy groups routinely criticize police for DUI checkpoints since they tend to snag more unlicensed than drunk drivers and the majority of those are vehicles driven by illegal aliens. But don't be fooled by the sob story. Many illegal aliens play the game. Knowing they daily risk the loss of a vehicle at any traffic stop, they often buy cheap modes of transportation that can be affordable left in the tow yard. Roughly 70 percent of those are given up because of the $900 to $1,300 costs to spring them.

Thankfully, Chief deWerk if not fearful to say he must uphold the law. But it's sad that he had to endure an intimidating and pointed line of questioning, answering questions like, "How do you feel about the Hispanic community?" and "Now that you are aware how are community is being drained by outrageous towing fees for storage will you work with us on minimizing the impact of these fees?" (Let's rephrase the question for a drunk driver: "Now that you are aware how drunk drivers are being drained by outrageous towing fees for storage, will you work with us on minimizing the impact of these fees?")

Get real.

Professor David R. Ragland, founder of the U.C. Berkeley Traffic Safety Center/Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC), states "it is so crucial that people understand the seriousness of driving without a license. DWL (Driving without a license) is a huge problem, and one that is growing. It's time we raised public awareness and did the same for DWL that Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others did for DWI."
