Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume 114, Issue 16, 2017, Pages 4111-4116

Providing driver's licenses to unauthorized immigrants in California improves traffic safety (Article) (Open Access)

Lueders H. , Hainmueller J.* , Lawrence D.
  • a Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8050, Switzerland
  • b Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8050, Switzerland, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States
  • c Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8050, Switzerland

Abstract

The integration of immigrants presents a major challenge for policymakers in the United States. In an effort to improve integration, several US states recently have implemented laws that provide driver's licenses to unauthorized immigrants. These new laws have sparked widespread debate, but we lack evidence on the traffic safety impact of these policies. We examine the short-term effects of the largest-scale policy shift, California's Assembly Bill 60 (AB60), under which more than 600,000 licenses were issued in the first year of implementation in 2015 alone. We find that, contrary to concerns voiced by opponents of the law, AB60 has had no discernible short-term effect on the number of accidents. The law primarily allowed existing unlicensed drivers to legalize their driving. We also find that, although AB60 had no effect on the rate of fatal accidents, it did decrease the rate of hit and run accidents, suggesting that the policy reduced fears of deportation and vehicle impoundment. Hit and run behaviors often delay emergency assistance, increase insurance premiums, and leave victims with significant out of pocket expenses. Overall, the results suggest that AB60 provides an example of how states can facilitate the integration of immigrants while creating positive externalities for the communities in which they live.

Author Keywords

Integration Unauthorized immigrants Traffic safety Driver's licenses Immigration

Index Keywords

California priority journal law traffic safety insurance victim Fear traffic accident Article driver licence emergency care undocumented immigrant
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85017576949&doi=10.1073%2fpnas.1618991114&partnerID=40&md5=df4491986593cd877f7381173c759fce
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1618991114
ISSN: 00278424
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English