The Santa Ana Police Department’s (SAPD) Public Information Officer, Anthony Bertagna, and Santa Ana Chief of Police Paul Walters both confirmed today, via email, that the SAPD is not going to be conducting any DUI checkpoints this weekend.
Now that doesn’t mean that our residents and out of town visitors should get drunk and drive on New Year’s Eve, but it does mean that our residents who don’t have documents can feel free to drive without having to worry about their cars being impounded.
If you do get wasted this New Year’s Eve there is good news. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is providing free bus rides between 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31 and 2:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1.
And the AAA is offering their Tipsy Tow service, which provides a complimentary ride and vehicle tow up to seven miles from the point of pickup to drivers who have consumed alcohol on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. Tipsy Tow service is available to members and non-members. Ask for a Tipsy Tow by calling 1-800-400-4222.
If you do see a drunk driver be sure to call the SAPD at (714) 245-8665 or you can dial 911.
And please remind your family and friends that it is not cool to shoot firearms off in the air on New Year’s Eve. When the bullets come down they can hurt or kill innocent people!
AAA will also take you and your car home free whether you are a member or not. We wo ‘t discuss the illegal alien thing.
Right – I noted that in my post. Pretty nice of them!
“Now that doesn’t mean that our residents and out of town visitors should get drunk and drive on New Year’s Eve, but it does mean that our residents who don’t have documents can feel free to drive without having to worry about their cars being impounded”…… Hmmmmmm
Latino:
When we woke up, the sun was shining in our eyes
The silver spurs were gone, my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs, a dollar and a dime
And left us craving for…..more summer wine
Ohhh..summer wine…
Bumper:
No DUI check points DO NOT mean drunk and unlicensed foreign nationals will not be tossed into the slammer.
http://youtu.be/jR-rIWcsj54
No one should drink and drive, irrespective of their citizenship status. Why don’t you go by Downtown SA tonight? You’ll see a lot of drunks – and very few Latinos.
Um how about people here illegally go back to their country drunk or not?
Many have John. And sad to say they are returning to a Mexico ruined by American’s insatiable appetite for illegal drugs. And the guns killing Mexicans? Most illegal guns in Mexico come from American gun dealers.
Doesn’t the US accept foreign driver’s licenses? Essentially, the illegal alien simply needs to have their current DL from their current country of citizenship. If I drive in another country, the other country will usually accept it. Those here without DL, just need to be current in their country of citizenship…Those, those that are unwilling to do that, well that is trouble. Happy New Year to all!
Why can’t Mexican’s own guns for self protection?
And I thought you were one of those “make drugs legal” guys?
There are no gun rights in Mexico. Only the criminals, the police and the military have guns.
“Doesn’t the US accept foreign driver’s licenses?”….. Hmmmmmm
Not really!
The US jurisdiction regarding the DL varies state to state.
In the California if you have out of state DL you have 30 days to get California one!
However, you can probably use valid Mexican DL if you would have AAA international certificate which is good as long as the visa is good.
So no passport, no visa, no Mexican DL.
Question is would AAA issue international certificate based on the Mexican Matricula Consular ID card and if the card is accepted by the COP the DL must be accepted too.
But I do not think that Mexican Affirmative Action Educated Attorneys are qualified to figure that one out.
I should add that you can get the International DL Certificate in your native country providing that it is a part of appropriate international treaty in which case the Mexican Consulate should be able to issue the International DL Certificate based on valid Mexican DL if they are a part of such treaty.
In addition the US car insurance is not valid in Mexico. You must purchase one before you cross the border.
Thanks for the info Stanley…I guess I was missing the point about them being CA residents and therefore supposed to get one here, but they can’t- it comes down to whether they are residents here in the US (i.e. if you are just visiting here, you do not need a CA DL in 30-days). However, I imagine that a current out of country DL is better than none. Int’l DL Cert looks like the way to go. In most cases, and correct me if I am wrong and make sure to use the hmmmmm to add emphasis, I believe the insurance is carried on a car by car basis, so the owner of the car has to have the insurance and not the actual driver. I know this from personal experience with another driver of my car denting someone else’s car and my insurance covering. So, as long as the car owner has insurance valid in the US, it should be OK regardless of whether the driver has insurance or not, but maybe there is a requirement to onlly have licensed drivers drive the car.
“So, as long as the car owner has insurance valid in the US, it should be OK regardless of whether the driver has insurance or not, but maybe there is a requirement to onlly have licensed drivers drive the car”……. Hmmmmmm
The assumption is mother of all fups!
One of the biggest assumptions travelers make is that their U.S. auto insurance will cover them if they are involved in an accident in Mexico. That’s not true.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0730biz-global0730.html
Stanley- I was not referring to driving in Mexico. I was referring to driving in the US. If the car is insured in the US, I believe that no matter who is driving it in the US, they will also be insured as long as driving in the US. My bigger point is two fold:
1. Illegals still can (and should) have a DL, just not a CA DL. There are alternatives from their country of origin.
2. Persons who do not have a CA DL, can still (and should) have insurance…just have a legal resident get it on the auto.
If you go to another country to drive, you need to check your own insurance policy as you state. Mexico is much more difficult while Canada is not. CAN was no issue at all the last time I drove there. MEX was a notification and a few bucks to my insurance carrier, although now I doubt that I would even want to drive in MEX at all.
My wife was rear ended by a young man a month ago here in Santa Ana.
They pulled over and exchanged info, but she called me cause he did not speak English and there was diff names on each doc he supplied.
When I got there the young mans relative was there to translate and help.
His license was from a foreign country and it expired 2 years ago, the registration was current and in the relatives name, the insurance paper was a receipt from a tow company (no insurance).
It didn’t look good, my wife offered a cash settlement for all claims, but the other party thought it was too much and opted to file a police report.
After the cops got there, 3 cars and 2 cycles, they got all the information from my wife and told her to leave.
The tow truck was pulling up as we left. I bet you can guess how that story ended.
I am glad she was not hurt. It sounds like the system worked.
“Stanley- I was not referring to driving in Mexico”…… Hmmmmmm
I do not know wher is the confusion, I have clearly stated:
In addition the US car insurance is not valid in Mexico. You must purchase one before you cross the border.
Cook:
You must have uninsured motorist insurance too!
In the Small Claims court the car damage claim is up to $10,000, I believe, so sue.
Stanley- I was not directly referring to your prior insurance comment. I know you were referring to driving in MEX, however I was not. I was more generally referring to the perceived problem that unlicensed drivers can’t have insurance in the US and therefore should have the right to have a license in the US. I do see where the confusion arose and wish I would have used different wording..super apologies- I guess my proofreading skills are lacking as a new poster.
TJLocalSA,
It is very simple to purchase car insurance in the California without DL. Even month to month.
Same like IRS does not require any SSN they will give you TAX number if you ask for one so does not insurance company.
The problem is that most of illegal immigrants have no DL or any documents like Passport from their native country.
You are dealing with really uneducated people who can’t legally navigate themselves within the society and, therefore, must rely on the underground forces.
You don’t need a CDL to purchase auto insurance.
Good to know from both of you…obviously, my family or I do not have this problem (i.e. residents, citizens, documented, insured, and over-insured). I always heard that getting US insurance was a reason as to why we should allow illegals to get CA DL’s. My presumptions were that they can maintain their DL in their country of origin (despite the CA law about residents changing to CA DL’s- one is better than none) and that they can just have someone else insure the car. Knowing that they can get US insurance without a CA DL just blows one of those reasons out…
Thanks!