Drivers who are unlicensed or have a suspended or revoked license are nearly three times more likely to cause a fatal crash, a California Department of Motor Vehicles study found.
It’s even more dangerous to be an unlicensed driver rather than to drive with a suspended or revoked license. Compared to the average legal driver, such drivers are 2.6 to 2.73 times more likely to cause a fatal crash, depending on the driver.
The study, Fatal Crash Rates for Suspended/Revoked and Unlicensed Drivers, took crash data over a span of 23 years. Researchers looked at the correlation among two-vehicle fatal crashes where one driver was at fault. The at-fault crash risk of drivers without permission to drive has not diminished over time.
The Department of Motor Vehicles found that people between the ages of 20 to 29 who do not have authorized licenses have the largest percentage of two-vehicle fatal car accidents.
If caught with a suspended or revoked license or found to be driving without one, the citation can result in a 30-day vehicle impoundment, thousands of dollars in fines, and/or time added to a suspension or probation period.
These are examples that can happen in every family, and too often do. It is my understanding that driver's ed (classroom safety instruction) used to be widely offered, and no longer is so available. Maybe other readers know more? But I think every HS student should be required to take such a course -- whether they intend to drive themselves, or not; whether they were born here, or not. Traffic is a part of our lives, and traffic safety affects us all.