Driver privilege cards a public safety issue?

A recent drunk driving tragedy in Utah shines a light on the real public safety concern surrounding issuing driver privilege cards to illegal aliens here in Oregon.

Utah State Senator Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, desires to rid the state of the Driver Privilege Card because it is a failed experiment:

“’I think they’re a bad idea. We empower illegal aliens with the cards,’ Urquhart said. ‘My argument would be if they're here illegally, we shouldn’t give them a driver privilege card and they shouldn't be driving.’

Even though the cards were never intended to serve as legal identification, Urquhart said that’s how they’re being used. ‘This is a failed experiment,’ he said.” See http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705375502/Fingerprints-background-check-now-required-for-Utah-driver-privilege-card.html.

Driving privilege cards do not reduce hit and run accidents, either. Hit-and-run data from the Utah Highway Patrol shows the number of issued citations for the accidents doubled to 881 in 2011 from 447 in 2004.