Are Unlicensed Drivers a Public Safety Risk?

Driving a vehicle without a license is obviously against the law, but can unlicensed drivers pose more of a threat to public safety than people with a drivers license? Between 2007 and 2009, 18.2 percent of all fatal crashes involved a driver who lacked the proper credentials to drive, according to an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study. That is, the driver had no drivers license or had a suspended, revoked, or otherwise compromised license. That 18.2 percent of crashes translates into 21,049 lost lives. Fifty percent of the unlicensed drivers involved in those crashes had alcohol in their systems, and 43 percent of those drivers were over the legal blood-alcohol concentration limit. Hundreds of thousands of people in New York are convicted of driving without a license, according to Press Connects. In Broome County, 10,699 people were convicted of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle between 2007 and 2011; roughly 90 percent of those violations involved people who fail to pay fines for repeated minor traffic violations. The remaining 10 percent lost their license to drive because of more serious felony offenses tied to drunk driving charges, according to Broome County Sherriffs Captain Frederick Akshar. Operating a vehicle without a license covers a wide swatch of the population in New York. There are varying degrees of offenses for driving without a license. Driving without a valid license in the vehicle or with an expired license are infractions which are subject to a fine of up to $300. Driving with a suspended license is a misdemeanor which carries a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. (Drivers whose license was suspended due to drunken driving, or whose license has been suspended multiple times, face a mandatory seven days in jail.) Driving drunk on a suspended license is a felony, and it carries a fine of up to $5,000 and up to four years in prison.

As of August 2012, there were 9,270 suspended licenses in Broome County, and another 2,405 were revoked. A defense attorney in Broome County told Press Connects that people whose licenses are suspended typically failed to pay fines; those whose licenses are revoked are severe, long-term, repeat offenders who typically have habitual drunk driving infractions. Nationwide, drivers whose credentials have been suspended or revoked make up the largest subgroup of unlicensed drivers, according to AAA data. An Unlicensed Person Drives, then Walks, in Brooklyn That Anthony Web was unlicensed and operating the vehicle that ran over and killed Clara Heyworth is not in question. He was operating the vehicle on a learners permit, which means he

was neither allowed to drive at night nor alone. He was doing both, according to a report from The Gothamist, dated 08 August 2012. Initially, prosecutors charged Web with vehicular manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving, and, of course, operation of a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver. Because the police investigation was extremely sloppy, because Webs breathalyzer test was inadmissible in court, and because the prosecutions case fell apart in general, the victims husband believes the judge sent a message to the prosecution and police department by giving Web a relatively light sentence. For being responsible for the death of Clara Heyworth, the unlicensed driver was given a $250 fine and was ordered to attend a drunk driving education program. The judge who heard the case told The Gothamist that he was prepared to hear a case in which the unlicensed driver faced more serious charges, but that the prosecution failed to make such a case. Legal ramifications aside, the tragedy of Clara Heyworth underscores the underlying problem of unlicensed drivers: sometimes those unlicensed drivers have repeat offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol. Jurisdictions on both coasts have noticed that unlicensed drivers are a problem. Legislators in Massachusetts recently voted to increase the fine for driving without a license. In California, police officers in the city of Vista cited 22 people in one day for driving without a license. Both the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and WHAM-13 report that unlicensed driving is a problem in New York. If you or a loved one are involved in an accident in which someone was driving without a license, call the law office of Scott C. Gottlieb in Binghamton. We offer free consultations and case evaluations. We focus exclusively on injury cases. Call our office at (607) 724-7700 or visit our website, where you may complete our online contact form. These articles are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.