Seems like an over engineered solution. Revoking drivers license and seizing the car would be cheaper and easier to implement. We don't tolerate repeat offenders in most other circumstances. So why is it that you can keep breaking traffic laws without ever really being stopped from driving?
You don't want to devastate a person's livelihood if you can avoid it. I'd rather have an asshole with a nerfed car and a job than an asshole with no car, no job and way too much time on his hands.
For driving offenses, it's exponentially cheaper and easier to revoke driving privilege than to imprison the offender. Of course if someone ignores the ban and continues driving without a license, consequences would then need to escalate.
Because revoking a license doesn't stop someone from driving, and seizing the car doesn't stop a person from driving someone elses car.
Also, since we live in a card dependent world, you can argue that taking away someones car is destroying their ability to make a living (as much as I think this excuse is horseshit when dealing with dangerous driving)
>doesn't stop a person from driving someone elses car
Oh it does. Nobody will lend you a car that be lost to seizure. Denmark has car confiscation for speeding (not even repeated, just for single time 100% over the speed limit), and they will even take rental cars. It has definitely changed how easy it is to loan a car from friends, family, and businesses. Naturally consequences for driving without a license should also be increased.
I don't buy the car dependent argument. People are put in prison for minor victimless crimes. Something much much more life destroying than loosing your car and right to drive. If you need your car to live don't break the law repeatedly.
They stop driving in places with stiff penalties for driving without a license. I used to live in a state that made driving with suspended or revoked license punishable by up to 3 months in jail. Repeat offenders would have their vehicle taken off of them. Taken off as in seized; it is no longer yours. It becomes a rather burdensome crime when the car they seized has a bank not attached to it. Having a car seized doesn't end your obligation to pay off the loan.
All the local police and state police have license plate scanners, and would also alert on DWLS/DWLR. No point in trying to get around it by driving someone else's car. That vehicle also subject to seizure.
All this sounds rather hardcore, but the payoffs were many. Low number of accidents and traffic deaths, low cost of car insurance. Really dangerous activities like reckless driving and DWI could have life changing consequences even from the first offense.
The article says that 75% of people with revoked licenses continue to drive anyway. So yes… you’re completely right. But if you don’t take away their car, then that’s the car they are most likely to use (there is no excuse to borrow someone else’s car). So maybe this is a better punishment.
?? Yes it does. You presumably go to jail if you get caught driving without a license. Or do they not have legal penalties for driving without a license in virginia? If so, then it sounds like the problem is whatever dumb laws keep people that are driving illegally from going to jail.
