About this Column COLLEEN STONE is a producer at MaineToday and guest columnist for our blog in print — a "plog" — that combines comments people make on MaineToday.com with her thoughts about issues. Because many people post to online anonymously, or through the use of monikers, Stone may have to limit her source attributions to first name or screen name. In general, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram prohibits the use of anonymous sources in its stories. We are making an exception for this unique edited column that links the online world to the print world. If you would like to suggest a story, let us know your idea or question. To top of story

The problem of people without licenses is not a new one, but some high-profile fatal accidents involving such drivers have put the issue in the spotlight.

Last summer, trucker Scott Hewitt was accused of causing a crash on I-95 that killed Tina Turcotte of Scarborough. Hewitt had a long list of violations to his name and a suspended license. The ensuing outrage resulted in Tina's Law, which will impose stiffer fines and jail time on such offenders starting in August.

Before the law could take effect, John P. Allen, 51, of Bath, was involved in a Topsham accident that killed Harold Weisbein, 44, of Topsham. Allen had also been driving on a suspended license. The latest incident has law enforcement officials and the public again wondering how to keep such offenders from driving.

Responding to a Portland Press Herald story about just that, MaineToday.com users had plenty of ideas. A lot of you thought that the harsher penalties in the way of higher fines and more jail time - a la Tina's Law - will help.

A user posting with the handle kk said, "Hitting people in the wallet is usually a very good deterrent, and unfortunately it has to be enough that taking the risk is not worth it."

Will the possibility of a bigger fine really keep the worst offenders from driving? Another user named Rod doubted that any law or threat can stop some people from driving when they shouldn't - and that the only way to catch them is to turn Maine into a police state. So he proposed letting the people do some of the policing:

"A suspended license registry might be a way for employers, friends who may have children driven by them, and neighbors to find out who these people are. I certainly would want to know if my kid was riding to school or sports events with another parent who has no license and is a multiple offender."

Crime registries are in vogue. (See also: Sex offender registries.) But while you might be able to keep someone from riding with a bad driver based on such a registry, it won't necessarily stop offenders from driving in general. And do we want to turn the general public into traffic police? Come to think of it, I've been dying to actually use the words, "This is a citizen's arrest!"

A lot of you thought that the best way to stop the unlicensed from driving is to take their cars when they're caught: No car, no driving. And some of you thought the same should go for "enablers" who let people with suspended licenses drive their vehicles.

This led a few of you to wonder: What if the offender isn't the only person who uses the car? What if a law-abiding family depends on it? A user posting as "Sick of it" had an answer for that:

"The risk they pose to the rest of us is far greater than the risk to their families when the family car is lost. If they genuinely cared about their families, none of this would happen."

Hard to argue against the "greater good" principle there - unless, I suppose, you're actually in the position of having to the suffer the consequences of someone else's illegal actions.

A lot of users thought the license suspension system itself is flawed - and that a lot of people driving without licenses shouldn't have had them suspended in the first place.

DJ was one such user, saying, "First of all, don't take people's licenses away for unrelated reasons. Why would the state take a person's license away for not paying child support? This seems ridiculous - how can one get to work without a license? The state could garnish the offender's wages, tax refund, or unemployment check instead. "

Other users pointed out the Catch-22 some people who lose their license face: In most of Maine, it's hard to avoid driving - especially if you want to work.

Art tried to put himself in the shoes of that person:

"I think if a person is forced to break the law by driving to work it becomes easier to mentally justify other driving. There are some bad apples out there who just don't care but I'd bet the majority of people who lose a license would be more apt to comply with the law if it didn't mean losing employment for doing so."

Shane, for one, was sick of people defending those who keep driving without a license, whatever the reason.

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. It's not like the rules were put in place after the fact. Maybe an IQ test should be required to obtain a driver's license, too."

To quote the salty Maine lobsterman featured in the current FedEx ads, "smaht."

Wicked smaht.