The Associated Press reported last week that S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles records show that approximately 5 percent of South Carolina motorists have had their licenses suspended or revoked. That amounts to more than 156,000 drivers.

A 2003 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that, nationally, about two-thirds of motorists with suspended licenses continue to drive. Overall, the study showed, those drivers are four times more likely to be involved in an accident than licensed drivers.

The insurance industry doesn't keep track of how much it costs to pay claims for accidents involving uninsured motorists, but the S.C. Insurance News Service says that, on average, it costs insured drivers $21 a year to be covered in accidents caused by uninsured drivers.

Ironically, if you file a claim for damages caused by an uninsured motorist, the insurer almost certainly will raise your premium at renewal time.

Obviously, the insurance company has no way to cover its losses by charging drivers who don't have insurance, but it's wrong that innocent citizens are forced to pay for such irresponsible conduct.

And financial losses pale in comparison to the suffering, injuries and deaths caused by uninsured motorists.

Although drivers can lose their licenses for a number of reasons, including excessive points or failing to show proof of insurance, perhaps the most common reason is drunk driving. Many uninsured drivers are chronic drinkers who cannot seem to leave their hands off either booze or a steering wheel.

Clearly, South Carolina has to crack down on uninsured drivers by getting them off the highway and by increasing the penalties for those who don't. It will take more troopers on our highways and more rigorous prosecution in our courts.

It also will take a stiffening of the fines levied against uninsured motorists. A bill, introduced by State Rep. Scott Talley, R-Spartanburg, that would have increased the fine for driving without a license from $50 to $400 failed to pass during the recent General Assembly.

We urge our lawmakers to get behind the effort to rid South Carolina highways of unlicensed motorists.

IN SUMMARY
Two-thirds of people with suspended driver's licenses keep on driving; it's high time for South Carolina to crack down.