Who needs a driver's license?
In California, you can buy a car, register a car and even insure it -- though you may not legally be able to drive it.
Car dealers throughout Stockton are using this quirk in California's law to cater to customers without driver's licenses, drawing concern from critics who say the practice promotes illegal driving.
With banners that announce "No Licencia, No Problema," dealerships are targeting the Latino community, hoping to cash in because many other dealers won't sell to buyers without a license.
The dealers are not breaking the law, which states that anyone can purchase a car. "You wouldn't want to prevent a blind person from owning a car, even if they may not be able to drive it," said Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Bill Branch. "That would be unfair."
California Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Joe Whiteford said that while unlicensed drivers are a problem, stopping sales won't help the police investigate accidents. He said the law does not need changing.
"We already have the opportunity to impound their car if they are driving without a license," Whiteford said. He said troublemakers on the roads tend to be drivers with suspended licenses, not those who've never held a license.
Wendell of Grand Auto Sales said unlicensed drivers "are mostly doing the right thing. They are hardworking people who make their payments and need transportation to get to their work."
In the end, it is simply a matter of time before we have the "driver's certificate" for undocumented aliens driving legally in California. The auto dealers understand the 'value' of a sale; most of their money comes from the re-sale of used cars - especially, older makes and models.
If you can buy a car without a driver's license (without insurance), and the police impound your car; you can regain the vehicle the same day. Where is the prevention? When the "Real ID Act" is fully offered in 2006, the state of California will offer illegals driver's certificates. The legislation is being considered 'right now' in the Capitol, and both Republicans and Democrats are working on the language.
There will be legal driver's license, and there will be driver certificates. All the more reason for us to change our focus on the driver's license to the "Voter ID Act", making sure that the 'vote' stays with the legal citizens.
