Crash course

Twice this month I have seen tow trucks haul away the cars of Brazilian nationals who were involved in accidents.

Both times it seemed, regardless of which driver made the wrong move, the Brazilians had messed up by driving without valid licenses.

In one case it seemed like the driver had only a passport, in the other he had an international driver's license, which isn't valid here.

Based on these two encounters, it seems everyone would benefit from driver's licenses for all state residents regardless of whether drivers are citizens or not.

I would feel safer knowing more people on the road had passed the driver's test.

The state decides who gets a driver's license, not the federal government. This could be an instance where state's rights benefit civil rights by allowing undocumented immigrants to get licenses regardless.

However, this plan was vetted, and then dropped by New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, as the New York Times reported, because many found acknowledging illegal immigrants on the roadways more troublesome than just allowing what's going on now to continue.