The DMV released a report noting the dangers of those driving with no license, or a suspended license. That these drivers cause many of the tragic collisions we see on on roadways. That was proven to me when my father was killed by a DUI driver on June 5th, 1992. The 23 year-old male DUI driver (.16 BAC) that killed my father was driving on a suspended license, due to previous DUI arrests. It took my father to stop him, but it took my father’s life as well. After the report below you’ll see a link to a more recent crash caused by a woman driving on a suspended license. DUI checkpoints often take dozens of these drivers off our roadways.
DMV News Release – December 20, 2012
Unlicensed Drivers Pose Threat On California Roads
Sacramento –A new California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) study found that suspended/revoked and unlicensed drivers are much more hazardous on the road than validly licensed drivers. The study, entitled Fatal Crash Rates for Suspended/Revoked and Unlicensed Drivers, found that compared to licensed drivers, suspended/revoked and unlicensed drivers are nearly three times more likely to cause a fatal crash. The study also found that unlicensed drivers tend to be more hazardous than suspended/revoked drivers.
The study used crash data over a 23-year period and looked at two-vehicle fatal crashes where only one driver was at fault. The study found that the at-fault crash risk of suspended/revolved and unlicensed drivers has not decreased over time.
Among the Report’s Key Findings:
- Compared to validly licensed drivers, suspended/revoked and unlicensed drivers are 2.60 and 2.73 times more likely to cause a fatal crash relative to their exposure.
- The largest percentage of suspended/revoked and unlicensed drivers involved in two-vehicle fatal crashes are those aged 20 to 29.
- For drivers aged 19 or younger in two-vehicle fatal crashes, the percentage who were unlicensed drivers was almost four times higher than the percentage who were suspended or revoked.
The actual number of unlicensed drivers in California is unknown because these drivers do not come to the attention of the DMV until they are involved in a crash or convicted of a traffic violation.
Being cited for driving on a suspended/revoked license or while unlicensed can result in a 30-day vehicle impoundment, thousands of dollars in fines, time being added to a license suspension/probation period, or revocation of a license.
A DMV study by DeYoung (1999) found vehicle impoundment to be highly effective in reducing crashes among treated suspended/revoked and unlicensed drivers.
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Don’t Stand In Line, Go Online! Doing business with the DMV has never been easier. The DMV offers an array of services to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through its Website including online advance appointments for written and drive tests; vehicle registration and driver license renewals, selection of personalized license plates, changes of address and payment of fees via secure debit transactions. Customers can also effect transactions by calling DMV customer service at (800) 777-0133. DMV is a department under the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
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Example of crashes caused by those driving unlicensed or on a suspended license:
Accused drunk driver pleads not guilty in fatal crash
https://www.cbs8.com/story/20495226/accused-drunk-driver-pleads-not-guilty-in-fatal-crash
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A woman who allegedly drove the wrong way while drunk on state Route 52, causing a head-on crash that killed the other driver, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
April Thompson, 23, was ordered held on $250,000 bail. She faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Runyon said Thompson was driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of state Route 52 around 1 a.m. last Saturday when she crashed her Chevrolet truck head-on into a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle driven by 25-year-old Jayme Alan Midlam. He died at the scene and Thompson was treated at a hospital for moderate injuries.
After the crash, Thompson started her truck again and tried to back out of the wreckage, but was unsuccessful, Runyon alleged. He said two witnesses pulled Thompson from the crumpled truck and she was heard saying “I just want to go home.”
Two preliminary alcohol screening tests were measured at .217 and .196 percent, Runyon said. He said full blood-alcohol tests were pending.
Thompson told police that she had one glass of vodka about 4:30 p.m. the previous afternoon and was on her way from her home in National City to her boyfriend’s home in El Cajon when the accident occurred.
“Suffice to say that an individual could not drink a standard glass of alcohol and reach the blood-alcohol level that the PAS device revealed that she was at,” Runyon told reporters.
The prosecutor said that while Thompson’s driver’s license may have been suspended, she may not have received notification that was the case.
Deputy Public Defender Sal Tarantino unsuccessfully urged Judge David Szumowski to set bail at $50,000, saying Thompson had no criminal record and was not a risk to flee.
But the judge said that based on Runyon’s representations, it appeared the defendant “had a lot more than a glass” of alcohol to drink the night of the crash. Szumowski set a bail review for Tuesday and a readiness conference for Jan. 14. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 16.
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(More to be added…)
