No. of Recommendations: 1
From the Columbus OH Dispatch,
DeWine's (OH Governor) announcement came as the city, just northeast of Dayton, finds itself in the middle of a contentious immigration debate. An estimated 15,000 Haitians have settled in Springfield over the past several years, a dramatic population increase for a community with nearly 59,000 people as of the 2020 census.
The result, local and state officials say: A housing crisis, overtaxed health care system and concerns about driver safety that only increased after a Haitian immigrant caused a school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old on board. DeWine said the state will commit at least $2.5 million to expand primary care access and send state troopers to Clark County to help local police monitor the roads.
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From the OH Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Registrar Charlie Norman said 2,353 Haitian immigrants in Clark County have driver’s licenses. And to get them, he said they must provide documentation to get a license – just like everyone else.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Haitians have limited access to cars in their home country so when they come here, they lack driver training. DeWine said he will boost opportunities for driver education and try to overcome language barriers that contribute to driver confusion.
“The Ohio Traffic Safety Office has been on the ground in Clark county in the past year, working with the community there, providing driver training resources, doing specification creole driver training classes. They have created instructional resources and instructional aids in Haitian creole," Norman said.
Ohio currently doesn't require driver education training for anyone over 18 years old.
None of this seems to exempt Haitians from driving tests.
