More than 50 Spanish speakers crowded a classroom at Little Rock's Southwest Community Center on Saturday night for the second of two classes teaching the rules of the road to prospective drivers.
The class is put on by Working Together in the Community, a group organized by at-large City Director Joan Adcock. Jacob Tobler, a Community Oriented Police officer with the city, teaches the class in Spanish.
Tobler said the class serves Spanish speakers who are in the U.S. on work visas or who are in the country legally through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the first of President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration. Those residents are legally able to obtain driver's licenses in the U.S.
The class also serves people who did not immigrate to the U.S. legally and are unable to obtain driver's licenses but who have cars and drive anyway.
"We know there's plenty of people driving without a license, especially in the Hispanic community," he said, adding that he hopes a driving course in Spanish will help those people drive safely.
Tobler said he's not aware of any other driving classes taught in Spanish in the area. That doesn't mean they don't exist, he said, noting that the infrastructure to serve Hispanics in Northwest Arkansas is more developed than it is in central Arkansas.
The state provides driver's manuals in Spanish, which attendees used Saturday night and took home to keep.
One man, who asked not to be identified because of his immigration status, skipped the free dinner provided in another room to pore over the manual in the mostly empty classroom.
He was thankful for the class but lamented that he and others couldn't get driver's licenses and proper training.
Another man, who asked only to be identified as Jose because of his status, said he owns a car and drives it to get to and from work and the grocery store, among other places. But, he said, he wishes he had a license.
He said having a license would make life easier for everyone. It would make it easier for police to know who people are, for example.
In recent meetings of the Working Together in the Community group, members expressed frustration to governor's office and state attorney general's office officials that obtaining licenses isn't an option for people who are in the state illegally.
They noted that people who don't have licenses get arrested if they ever get pulled over for speeding or other minor offenses. Then their cars are impounded, and they can recover them only if they have the proper identification, which many people who are in the U.S. illegally don't have.
State officials did not immediately respond to the comments made by group members but said they would try to come back to the groups with answers.
On Saturday night, Tobler wrapped up the second session of his driving class, mostly talking about drunken driving and distracted driving. He warned that drunken, distracted and tired driving are all dangerous, and he relayed a story of a person he knew who made mistakes while drinking.
He also quizzed the crowd on what certain signs meant. He held up a "No turn on red" sign, which an audience member translated as "No girar en rojo."
Toward the end of the class, Adcock entered the room, having returned from a trip to Joplin, Mo., to observe the class. She received ample applause after being introduced, and she encouraged people to attend and watch the Board of Directors meeting Dec. 1.
"I am so proud of what you have done," she said. "I want you to show the whole city."
Metro on 11/15/2015