My unlucky day...my X5 was hit...

[soldmystang]

Originally Posted by ukwildcat

I don't think it's a question of whether states are "strict" or not.

In North Carolina, we have a BIG BIG problem with this.

Yes, our HUGE population of illegals is part of the problem, although they certainly don't have a lock on the unlicensed / uninsured "market."

As best I can tell, it goes like this..

1. Person lives in state with strict rules on licensing and insurance.
2. Even if that state makes it EASY to get a license legally, regardless of "status"..
3. Person avoids MOST of this trouble by simply not getting a license.
4. No license means no one is going to come after you for not having insurance.
5. Or registration, etc.

<I have to say, it's a clever "solution">

I was once in court for a um.. "minor" traffic violation and saw many such stories paraded before the judge. Two themes were carried out over and over again..

Theme I.
If you HAD a license and otherwise obeyed all the laws, the punishment could range from light to severe. (yes, of course this makes sense, but..)

Theme II.
If you DIDN'T have a license and you were nothing but trouble, it seems that there was very little they COULD do to punish you. Think of it like a HUUUUUUGE loophole.

My favorite case was a gentlemen from - shall we say - somewhere far, far south of NC where English is perhaps not widely spoken, who was up on his *SIXTH* charge of driving without a license. To be fair, there was some dispute as to whether it was FIVE or SIX, but hey..

SIXTH CHARGE. The judge bolted out of his chair and started screaming, red in the face: "He's going to do it again! If I let him go, he'll do it again!"

We all waited very eagerly for an APPROPRIATE punishment! After all, had it been me or you, they probably would have thrown us saps with licenses in jail, given lots of community service maybe, etc.. SOMETHING!

But.. No. The judge, still fuming, ruled "Tell him not to do it again!"

I STILL don't believe what I saw.

But I saw it again and again. No license. No insurance. No punishment.

License? SMACK. Insurance? PAY. Violation? SUFFER

It's not really a fair system.

Predictably, as a result, we have lots and lots and lots of nasty (fatal) accidents, and you can almost WAGER that whoever was responsible didn't have a license. Or insurance. To be fair, it seems MANY people involved in an accident don't have a license. Or insurance. It honestly makes me feel like a fool.

I was rear-ended oh two years ago or so, and that fellow didn't have a license. Or insurance, so I had to pay (and mine went up as a result). At least he had the good sense not to FLEE.

Oh.. But guess what? In NC, if you are guilty of a hit and run, they TAKE YOUR LICENSE!
But as Bob Dylan said, "if you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose!"

<sigh>

if I may, Doc. i really do not believe WE have anywhere near the immigration issues that the OP has, seeing as he is in Southern California.

yes, the Wake County area is indeed seeing more traffic accidents that can be attributed to new residents of our fair area. but as a resident of the town of "Concentrated Accumulation of Relocated Yankees" i'm not sure you get to stand up and bitch quite so loud.

time to vote for the Democrats Doc, because the local GOP ain't been getting it done lately.