Thousands of undocumented immigrants have been pouring into California licensing offices this month given that the state became the 10th and largest to permit them to get driver’s licenses.


The Department of Motor Cars has opened new branches, extended hours and hired 900 employees to meet the demand designed by state Assembly Bill 60, which went into effect Jan. 1.


More than 17,000 individuals applied for licenses on the first day, DMV spokesman Jaime Garza says.


“We are extremely, extremely pleased with the launch,” he says.


The law, like a lot of implemented in other states, is aimed at generating roads safer by making certain that drivers pass testing and get insurance ahead of acquiring behind the wheel. The effects may be most noticeable in California, where a almost 2.5 million of the state’s residents are estimated to be undocumented. Officials count on 1.4 million to apply for licenses inside the next 3 years.


Applicants need to give proof of residency and identity and take a vision exam to obtain the new licenses. Written and road tests are also necessary.


Carlos Amador, lead organizer with the California Immigrant Policy Center, applauds the new law. “Immigrants will now be capable to drive to and from work, take their children to the park or go buy groceries with no the fear of receiving costly traffic fines or losing their automobiles,” he says.


He adds that the law “will positively impact the communities immigrants are a vital portion of, as effectively as the rest of the state, by making positive more of California’s drivers are licensed, tested and insured.”


In addition to expanding services, the DMV also produced education a priority. “We held 180 workshops statewide with a variety of grassroots organizations to connect with the people impacted by this,” Garza says.


State officials and neighborhood organizers focused on explaining the application method, as properly as insurance coverage requirements, availability and fraud protection. California’s Low-Price Auto Insurance coverage Plan is a important piece of the puzzle. Last year, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones co-sponsored a bill to open the program to all low-earnings residents, even these with no 3 years of demonstrated great driving.


“Since our objective is to improve public security, it’s important to make positive that decrease-revenue AB 60 licensees who can’t afford regular insurance coverage have access to the program,” he says.


A family of 4 making less than $ 59,625 is most likely eligible for the low-cost coverage. It gives significantly less protection than regular auto insurance coverage — for example, $ 20,000 liability per accident, $ 10,000 under the state’s minimum — but is low-cost. San Francisco drivers with out 3 years of driving history will pay $ 339 per year to insure their automobiles Los Angeles drivers will spend $ 472.


Proof of auto insurance isn’t essential to get a single of the new licenses, and some undocumented immigrants bought insurance lengthy ahead of AB 60, so it is tough for officials to say how significantly the law will decrease California’s population of uninsured motorists. But Jones suspects there will be an influx of new insurance applications, specifically for the low-cost system. So far, the numbers back him up. Jones says inquiries on the program’s internet site are up by 20% over last January.


Most outreach has targeted Latino immigrants, who comprise far more than 90% of California’s undocumented population. But, says Amador, “There is still much more to be done to attain out to all undocumented Californians,” which includes Asian/Pacific Islander and African immigrants.


In the meantime, though, state officials and immigrant advocates are optimistic. “California’s immigrants have fought for decades to have the chance to get driver’s licenses. The truth that they are now inside attain is life-altering,” Amador says.


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