SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — There’s at least a few thousand people driving in South Dakota cities without a driver’s license.
Tickets for no driver’s license rank in the top five of traffic citations in the five most populous cities.
In 2021, the Sioux Falls Police Department issued 1,563 tickets for driving without a license or permit.
The Aberdeen Police Department issued 491 such tickets last year.
The Brookings Police Department grouped those tickets as suspended or revoked driver’s licenses and issued 71 of them in 2021.
If driving under the influence is not included, no driver’s license was the second most popular traffic ticket in Rapid City in 2021.
But in Watertown, no driver’s license tickets didn’t make the top five tickets, even when DUIs are not included.
The top ticket was speeding with 397 tickets in 2021 followed by stop sign or stop light violations at 118.
Data collected from the police departments in Aberdeen, Brookings, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Watertown show the top five tickets. In general, the data shows non-speeding and non-DUI citations.
Drivers may have a license in Rapid City but no proof of insurance ranked as the most traffic tickets for 2020 and 2021, according to the police department.
Capt. Jay Tobin of the Aberdeen Police Department said driving without a license tickets in his city includes drivers whose licenses may be revoked, suspended or expired. Or they may not have had a license at all, he said.
The tickets for traffic devices means a driver has disobeyed a stoplight or stop sign or similar device, Tobin said.
Speeding has been the top traffic violation in Brookings for the past three years. The police issued 445 speeding tickets in 2021. Seatbelt violations cracked the top five in all three years.
Drivers in Watertown disobey stop lights and signs enough to make it the second most violation of the last three years.
Police issued 118 stop sign and light violations in 2021. The top five traffic violations each year listed are non-DUI violations.
Sioux Falls Police compiled a top five list without speeding and DUI, at KELOLAND’s request.
The top ticket category for 2021 was no proof of insurance as 3,807 were issued. Following too closely took the fourth spot.
If speeding and DUI are included in the top five list, speeding would rank first with 8,193 citations, according to the Sioux Falls Police 2021 Annual Report. DWIs are listed at 870 arrests
The Sioux Falls Police 2021 Annual Report lists traffic statistics for several categories. The total number of driver’s license violations for 2021 was 2,468 with 1,563 for no driver’s licenses, 725 for driving while suspended and 180 citations for driving while revoked.
Seat belt violations did not hit the top five in most of the cities.
Seat belt violations did rank in the top five in Brookings. The 2021 annual report from Sioux Falls Police listed 104 child restraint violations.