Alex Bunting
Sociology 101-112
10-05-08
Current Event #5
No License, But Keys In Hand
In the world today, Colorado has been hit with another mild tragedy: the case of driving without a license.
According to The Denver Post author Kirk Mitchell, "since 1992, 143,913 people have been convicted as many as five times each in Colorado for driving after their licenses were suspended or revoked, and more than twice that number have been convicted of the lesser crime of driving without a valid license." This is appalling evidence as it seems to support the increasing rise in vehicular homicides and accidents. But, even more appalling is the fact that most of those driving without a license or being told not to will never face consequences beyond a couple months in jail. So, it's as if the safety of our citizens really lies behind the hands of drivers who are blatantly unqualified to be operating their vehicle!
According to the author, "under Colorado law the penalty for 'driving under restraint' is between five days and six months locked up. And the penalties don't increase for subsequent similar convictions; the violator just loses the license for longer. The charge becomes a felony only if a habitual traffic offender drives without a license again and is drunk or reckless or seriously injures or kills someone." Since 1992, over 30 people in Colorado have accumulated more than 15 convictions each for "driving under restraint," and five of them were convicted more than 20 times. The most recent, publicized accident to bring about this issue happened only a few months ago when 23-year-old Francis Hernandez, an illegal immigrant who had never attained a driver's license and had numerous tickets and traffic citations, ran a red light in his Chevrolet Suburban and rammed a pickup, killing the two women inside. The pickup then crashed into a local Baskin Robbins, where it in turn killed a 3-year-old boy. After investigation of the case and the arrest...