Santa Maria is ranked second out of 103 similarly sized California cities for hit-and-run accidents, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. A bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown could change that statistic.
Assembly Bill 60 will give undocumented immigrants the opportunity to receive a driver’s license from the Department of Motor Vehicles starting in January 2015. The license would include a mark to distinguish it from other licenses. Santa Maria Police Department Traffic Sgt. Jesus Valle said the Department of Motor Vehicles isn’t really sure what those licenses will look like, but he said having fewer unlicensed drivers on the road is a good thing.
“What we foresee is there will likely be more skilled and licensed drivers on the road,” Valle said. “One of the reasons that we see hit and runs across the city is because drivers are afraid and don’t want to deal with the consequences.”
Valle said drivers who have licenses would be more likely to stay on the scene than those who don’t. He added that drivers flee the scene for a variety of reasons that also include panic, driving under the influence, having a warrant out for arrest, or possession of an illegal substance.
The big impetus behind the bill is to make driving in California safer. Contained within the bill’s language are statistics that say approximately 1 million drivers in the state are unlicensed. The bill also states that one in five fatal accidents in the United States is caused by unlicensed or invalidly licensed drivers.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that all California drivers are properly trained, tested, and insured in order to make our roads safer,” the bill reads.
Some immigrant advocates were concerned when the bill came down the 2013 legislative pipeline, saying that identifying marks on driver’s licenses could be used to target undocumented immigrants. Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin said he’s heard murmurings of that same concern coming out of the local community.
Sgt. Valle said that concern isn’t really a valid one, especially when it comes to dealing with an accident.
“Our focus wouldn’t be determining whether [the driver is] legal or not,” Valle said. “Our focus would be on the accident.”
This article appears in Oct 10-17, 2013.