NORTH HILLS : Crash Victim’s Son Supports Bill by Katz

Barry Rightman would love to be able to undo the events of Jan. 27--the night his father was killed in an auto accident in which the other driver was unlicensed.

But he knows he can never bring his father back, so he’s trying to prevent similar tragedies from happening to others. He’s a staunch supporter of a proposed state law that would allow authorities to seize vehicles operated by people who don’t have driver’s licenses.

“The system, society does not move fast enough to cure its ills,” the North Hills resident said. “We’re all angry about unlicensed drivers, and yet nothing gets done. People have to get killed before something gets done.”

The bill, called the Safe Streets Act of 1994, would require anyone caught driving without a license on California roads to surrender the vehicle to the state. The law would also apply to those caught driving with suspended or revoked licenses.

The bill, AB 3148, was introduced by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar). It was passed in June by the Assembly, but faces stiff opposition in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill is scheduled to be heard Aug. 9.

Today, Katz, accompanied by families whose loved ones have been lost or injured in accidents involving unlicensed drivers, will host a press conference at a police towing garage in Van Nuys to draw attention to the problem.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that 75% of those whose licenses are suspended for driving under the influence continue to drive.

“Obviously, current laws aren’t working and we need to go a step farther and crack down on these dangerous drivers,” Katz said.

The bill has been amended to stipulate that the seized vehicles must be owned by the drivers in question. That was done at the behest of opponents on the committee who feared it would unfairly penalize vehicle owners who loaned their cars. Another proposed amendment would require owners to make sure that only licensed drivers use their vehicles, according to Katz.

“There is plenty of support for it, no question about it, but you’ve got to be very careful about what you are getting yourself into,” said state Sen. Cathie Wright, (R-Simi Valley).

Rightman concedes the law is not perfect.

“This is one good loophole, obviously, that needs to be plugged,” he said.

But the law would help get off the road uninsured and unregistered vehicles, whose owners often don’t have driver’s licenses, said Ed Paull of Chatsworth, who lost a daughter in an auto accident involving an unlicensed driver.

He said police have told him that often when they stop an unlicensed driver, they have someone else take the driver home, then impound the vehicle.

“Then, the very next day, they (the unlicensed drivers) would be going back to get their impounded car,” Paull said.

Under the new law, someone like the driver who killed his daughter “would have had his car taken away sooner,” Paull said.