Why More Drivers License Checkpoints Are Needed in Los Angeles

Three weeks ago, I was nearly killed by a hit and run driver while riding my bike in Echo Park. As an avid bicyclist, I've wondered what could be done to make the streets safer for cycling in Los Angeles. A couple weeks ago, I found the answer.

As I was driving to work, I saw an angry man holding a nearly illegible sign waving furiously at the cars passing by. Up on the next block, I saw what he was angry about: a police checkpoint. It turns out, he was warning unlicensed drivers that the police were checking every driver to make sure they had a drivers license.

I was shocked how many people he had to warn. In just four hours, the Culver City Police had taken 100 unlicensed drivers off the road. Their cars were impounded and they were free to walk away.

Here was one such driver. Was he unlicensed or was his license suspended for a DUI? Either way, it was illegal for him to be driving.

Driving is a privilege. More importantly, it's a potentially deadly activity requiring skill and training. If you cannot prove you are trained to operate deadly machinery, you have no business putting people in danger. If you have been suspended from driving and continue to drive, you're a menace to public safety and deserve to be stopped.

An estimated two million California drivers are unlicensed. Either they never got a drivers license or their license has been suspended. More than half of all people driving with a suspended license were convicted of a DUI. Half of all hit-and-run collisions involve unlicensed drivers. Unlicensed drivers are four times more likely than licensed drivers to be involved in a fatal accident.

If you support safe streets and would like to end the menace of hit and runs that kill cyclists and pedestrians, take a moment to thank the Culver City Police Department for catching 100+ unlicensed drivers in that one morning. Call CCPD Traffic Division at 310-253-6251 and let Lt. Ron Iizuka know how much you support checkpoints to catch unlicensed drivers. Better yet, ask the police in your neighborhood to implement similar checkpoints. I have yet to see a more effective way to reduce the danger posed by hit and run drivers.

 

Follow Alex de Cordoba on Twitter: www.twitter.com/alexdecordoba

Comments

[dbrett480]

12:08 AM on 11/30/2011

Good column. I can never understand why people defend those that don't have drivers licenses.

[Evan Wagner]

01:19 PM on 11/29/2011

As a police officer in Los Angeles, I can tell you that people would be stunned to know how many unlicensed drivers there are. I'd guess it's around 1/3 of all drivers, at least where I work. A lot of them are illegal immigrants who cannot get a license, and those are (for me) judgment calls. I don't want to keep down a guy who's trying to get to/from work, but on the other hand, they're very seldom driving to/from work. But a ton of unlicensed drivers are born and raised US citizens who just never bothered to get a license or are not allowed to have one re a DUI. It isn't a scandal--but should be.

[xenubarb]

01:08 PM on 11/29/2011

As a motorcyclist, I share your concern. I got caught in one of those checkpoints on my way home. Pulled out drivers license, proof of insurance and registration, as I keep it handy in my jacket, along with an old spark plug I shall not discuss.

Cop said I was "one of the few" who had paperwork that day. Up until that point during the day, he said they'd impounded over 60 vehicles from unlicensed and uninsured motorists.

Meanwhile, up the coast in Oceanside, some people are bawwing because they see it as an attack on Latinos. It's not. Just happens there are a lot of Latino folks living in Oceanside, and a lot of them haven't bothered to visit the DMV. That's fine, some will say, leave them alone. Of course, they'll squall louder than anyone if their Lexus gets dented in a fender bender with an uninsured, unlicensed, undocumented driver.

[Harris Silver]

10:55 PM on 11/28/2011

Food for transportation thought: Most fatal accidents happen with drivers with licenses who aren't under the influence. This article makes no mention of that.

[dbrett480]

12:11 AM on 11/30/2011

That is true, only because most drivers are not under the influence. If you take into account the proportion of drivers who are drunk and get into a fatal (or non-fatal) accident, you will find they contribute more than sober drivers.

[Drew Puli Wolf]

07:59 PM on 11/28/2011

If undocumented immigrants where allowed to get drivers licenses I would agree. Calling for increased checks for unlicensed drivers while not asking calling for issuing licenses to immigrants seems like a back handed way to finds more ways to deport them and make life even harder for them. If anything shows why undocumented immigrants should be allowed to get licenses this does. Then way only people those who are unlicensed drivers are so because of DUI arrests, or the inability to pass the driver’s test. The way it is now, more checks for unlicensed drivers is just another excuse to racially profile Latin Americans.

[xenubarb]

01:13 PM on 11/29/2011

Fine. When your kid is run over by one, good luck getting his/her insurance to pay for it. Oh, right, they don't have any. If they do, they pay for 4 months and then quit paying, just long enough to get a license. I'm generalizing, every illegal driver in Cali does not do that thing, but many do and not all are Latino.

So I'm really sorry that so many of them get caught in these checks, but they're not the target. Any unlicensed motorist is fair game. Even ones named Smith.

[Drew Puli Wolf]

04:54 PM on 11/29/2011

If you read what I said, you would have noticed I that the solution was not to stop checking for unlicensed drivers, but to allow anyone without regard to immigration status a license. That way you could have a real crack down on unlicensed drivers – those who lost their licenses because of bad driving, and not wasting time on good drivers who happen to not be documented.
PS. the only accident I had in the last couple of years met Harris Silver definition - some licensed white guy playing bumper cars on the freeway while arguing with his wife on a cell phone, he left the freeway continuing to drive erratically until stopped by the police – this was on Halloween night with a lot of kids out walking.

[dbrett480]

12:13 AM on 11/30/2011

Police agencies have been utilizing checkpoints for a long time. How is it only now that this is considered racial profiling?

[enanito5]

03:51 AM on 11/30/2011

You ought to know, mr cop. Unless you still believe that the sentencing law for crak cocain vs powder cocain did not have anything to do with race and class.

[superfool]

07:51 PM on 11/28/2011

Why are people driving without a license? Is it a matter of a DUI conviction or reckless driving? Or is it a matter of affordability? Are unlicensed drivers just doing their best to get to their job so that they can afford to eat? Are they unlicensed because they can't afford residency and are living here illegally? Your accident was unfortunate, but is a "license" the true cause? It seems to me that having a license in good standing is more of a class issue than a good driver issue. I'm just giving you something to think about Alex.

[xenubarb]

01:32 PM on 11/29/2011

A licensed driver has
1. passed the DMV written test covering basic laws, signs, etc
2. Has insurance, registered vehicle, and drivers license.

This is not to discommode the poor. It's to protect us when they run into us and can't afford to pay compensation.

Class issue? Yo, that is the dumbest thing I've read today, seriously. Driving is a privilege, not a right. So right there's your "class issue." 1% thinks they don't need to follow the laws and regulations concerning the operation of a 2000 lb motor vehicle that can drive faster than you can think. 99% of us who drive disagree with letting a certain class ignore the laws that are meant to protect motorists.

Professional motorcycle courier here. I know what I'm talking about.

[enanito5]

03:46 AM on 11/30/2011

What a joke you are mr. pro courier, i'm sure that with less driveres on the road you can go even faster, right? They should simply make it illegal to drive while poor.