Stiffer penalties needed for driving laws

Published: February 28, 2010

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To the editor: According to Saturday's (Feb. 21) Police Blotter, the driver who caused the automobile accident on Route 61 in front of Wal-Mart, a 20-year-old woman, was not licensed to drive a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania.

This person caused numerous injuries and untold amounts of damage to two other vehicles. Now this person is going to be charged with driving without a license (only a $200 fine) and failure to yield to oncoming traffic, which I believe is three points added to a license that this person doesn't have.

That's not to even mention the fact that, since this person is not licensed to drive, they obviously don't have car insurance. So now who's going to pay for the other two vehicles they wrecked?

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania needs to impose stricter penalties for those who drive when not authorized to do so. Driving is a privilege in Pennsylvania, not a right. But so many people think they are above the law.

Driving without a license should be an automatic revocation in the Department of Motor Vehicles' database, and being caught driving without a valid license should be punishable by actual jail time. Maybe then people would understand that it's not OK to drive unlicensed, and it's not going to be just a slap on the wrist. Maybe a $1,000 minimum fine on the first offense, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 days in jail for a second offense? I think people will get the message.

Richard Fowler

Shamokin

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Richard, don't you get it? Some people don't care how stiff the penalties are. These people would have to lock up for the rest of their lives. Like you said, some people think their above the law so they really don't care. Give them an opportunity to drive and they will continue to do so. I don't have a solution. Regardless of what the laws are, some people just don't care.

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William, 03/05/10 9:48