No license, no concern for many drivers
Many Wisconsin motorists have suspended or revoked licenses, but drive anyway.
No license, no concern for many drivers Many Wisconsin motorists have suspended or revoked licenses, but drive anyway. Check out this story on postcrescent.com: http://post.cr/1GtjUYP
Andy Thompson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Published 12:00 p.m. CT April 25, 2015
Appleton police officers make a high-priority traffic stop on the College Avenue bridge in January 2013.(Photo: Wm. Glasheen/Post-Crescent Media)Buy Photo
A few weeks ago, a 35-year-old Grand Chute man was driving along State 441 and Racine Road when he was stopped by a police officer.
It was quickly determined that his driver's license was revoked. And that he had neglected to install an ignition interlock device stemming from a previous drunken driving conviction.
Think that's out of the norm?
The Grand Chute motorist has plenty of company when it comes to driving illegally on Fox Cities roadways. It's also a statewide problem.
Data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation showed there were 114,117 convictions in 2014 for either operating while suspended, operating without a valid license or operating after revocation. In addition, there were 60,358 convictions for failure to have compulsory automobile insurance.
And those are just the drivers who were caught.
Rest assured that many other people get behind the wheel of a car when their licenses are suspended or revoked — and aren't detected by law enforcement.
They are more than willing to roll the dice. Even if they get caught and fined, that doesn't keep them off roadways. Many people who have multiple convictions and unpaid fines simply ignore the penalties and continue to drive.
I've gotten calls from readers on this issue who think driving with a suspended license is a minor offense. They wonder why police waste their time issuing citations to people for something so trivial.
I point out to them that higher insurance rates resulting from uninsured motorists who flaunt the law aren't trivial. And for people who follow the rules, getting a car smashed by an unlicensed driver is maddening — and expensive.
I have no easy answers. Throwing the offenders in jail isn't a viable option. Nor is confiscating their cars, or imposing bigger fines.
Maybe we just have to put up with it.
That's a sad reality.
— Andy Thompson: 920-993-1000, ext. 320, or awthompson@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @Thompson_AW
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