If you’ve ever been driving and wondered how another driver on the road still has their license, you’re not alone. Given that there are thousands of car accidents in the United States every day, and that renewing a driver’s license in the U.S. rarely requires retesting, it’s no surprise that some of the people on the road today may not be the best drivers.
Seeing some of these poor drivers, one may feel as though there’s nothing they can do to get them off the road. However, one TikTok user says that there’s a way you can combat the problem head-on.
In a video with over 3.1 million views as of Sunday, TikTok user Francisco (@franciscocorcia) simply says, “Did you know you can anonymously submit someone for retesting for their driver’s license?”
“So, do with that what you will,” he concludes.
@franciscocorcia #stitch with @Stephanie Ann ♬ original sound – Corcia Corp
Naturally, the reveal of this fact had many people questioning how one can go about doing this.
Francisco then posted a follow-up video showing how one can anonymously report a driver for retesting in California.
“There’s a number of the form right there, and under confidentiality, it tells you right there, you can not say who you are, which is confidential,” he shares, overlaying himself on the California DMV’s “Potentially Unsafe Driver” page. “I don’t know how you do it in your state, but I live in California and this is how we do it in our state.”
“If you absolutely have to get their driver’s license numbers, most people are the registered owner to their cars,” he continues. “So you just give their license plate number and that has their driver’s license number.”
@franciscocorcia Replying to @hazel #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Corcia Corp
While Francisco’s advice may be valid for the state of California, this is not necessarily applicable in other states. For example, while one can report an unsafe driver in the state of Wisconsin, the state’s Open Records Law means that one will be able to find who submitted the report if requested.
Regardless, many users in the comments section claimed that they were going to begin reporting drivers.
“About to submit my grandpa. He needs to not drive anymore,” said a user.
“I work in Ophthalmology and whew you’d be surprised how many people can NOT see but drive themselves everywhere,” offered another.
“How can I submit a whole state?” joked a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Francisco via TikTok direct message.
Update Jan. 30 9:50am CT: In a TikTok DM exchange with the Daily Dot, Francisco said that he knows this trick because he spent time as a police officer in central Oregon.
“Officers are typically the ones who do the submitting,” he explained. “As a lot of people pointed out in the comments, you need a person’s info. So if you’re a cop you have access to LEDS (Law enforcement Data System). That provides you with people’s DL numbers and driving records.”
“So based on the totality of the circumstances a cop could make the decision to submit. When the referral comes from a cop it holds more weight because of this,” he continued.
Francisco went on to note that, given his experience, he was able to see if something was “off” with someone’s driving. If this was the case, they could be reported for retesting.
