New database will identify uninsured drivers
New database will identify uninsured drivers
By CAROLYN FEIBEL HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 21, 2009, 6:43PM
Carlos Rodriguez has no patience with uninsured drivers. He pointedly calls them “lowlifes.”
Are you one of them? State officials estimate that 20 percent of Texas drivers—that’s 4 million—carry no insurance, not even the minimum liability required by law.
State officials are hoping that a statewide database called TexasSure will help them find and punish these drivers. Basically, any highway trooper or local officer can quickly tap into TexasSure to check insurance status during a routine traffic stop. Drivers who are uninsured can be fined right away, up to $350 for the first offense. (Here's a state FAQ on TexasSure.)
Rodriguez, 55, is a big cheerleader for TexasSure. He has reason. In 2006, Rodriguez survived a harrowing collision with a drunken driver on a four-lane road in San Marcos. The other driver killed himself and his girlfriend after speeding, losing control on a curve and slamming into Rodriguez’ car.
The driver, besides being drunk and paying with his life, was also uninsured.
For Rodriguez, it literally added insult to injury. Potentially, it made him liable for paying for two surgeries and months of physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
Fortunately, Rodriguez’s wife had added a rider to their car insurance policy that covered them in case the other driver was uninsured. But without that, Rodriguez could have been forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical and therapy bills.
It’s not so much the money, he said, as the moral impact.
“That really incensed me because it told me he didn’t really care,” Rodriguez said. “He didn’t care about anybody but himself and having a good time.”
“A lot of these lowlifes say they don’t get insurance because it’s too expensive,” Rodriguez said. “But because they’re driving around without insurance, and they’re involved in wrecks, that’s driving the cost of insurance even higher.”
After a pilot period, the TexasSure database went statewide in October. Some cities have additional penalties, like impounding the vehicle, when they catch people driving without insurance.
“Law enforcement has been waiting a long time for this, insurance companies have been waiting a long time for this,” said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The database, which is refreshed weekly, could put a stop to the “lowlife” trick of buying insurance in order to renew car registration, then dropping it the next day. Rodriguez said the driver who hit him had done this.
More than 30 other states have some type of verification program to check for auto insurance. Each has seen a reduction in the number of uninsured vehicles on the road.
“It’s not an immediate result, sometimes it takes several years,” said Melissa Burkhart of the Texas Department of Insurance. “But every state saw a decline.”
Let’s hope the same happens in Texas.
Note: You’re required by law to carry proof of insurance in your vehicle. For more information on the minimum coverage required under Texas law go to www.TexasSure.com or call 800-252-3439.
Source: Houston Chronicle
By CAROLYN FEIBEL HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 21, 2009, 6:43PM
Carlos Rodriguez has no patience with uninsured drivers. He pointedly calls them “lowlifes.”
Are you one of them? State officials estimate that 20 percent of Texas drivers—that’s 4 million—carry no insurance, not even the minimum liability required by law.
State officials are hoping that a statewide database called TexasSure will help them find and punish these drivers. Basically, any highway trooper or local officer can quickly tap into TexasSure to check insurance status during a routine traffic stop. Drivers who are uninsured can be fined right away, up to $350 for the first offense. (Here's a state FAQ on TexasSure.)
Rodriguez, 55, is a big cheerleader for TexasSure. He has reason. In 2006, Rodriguez survived a harrowing collision with a drunken driver on a four-lane road in San Marcos. The other driver killed himself and his girlfriend after speeding, losing control on a curve and slamming into Rodriguez’ car.
The driver, besides being drunk and paying with his life, was also uninsured.
For Rodriguez, it literally added insult to injury. Potentially, it made him liable for paying for two surgeries and months of physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
Fortunately, Rodriguez’s wife had added a rider to their car insurance policy that covered them in case the other driver was uninsured. But without that, Rodriguez could have been forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars in medical and therapy bills.
It’s not so much the money, he said, as the moral impact.
“That really incensed me because it told me he didn’t really care,” Rodriguez said. “He didn’t care about anybody but himself and having a good time.”
“A lot of these lowlifes say they don’t get insurance because it’s too expensive,” Rodriguez said. “But because they’re driving around without insurance, and they’re involved in wrecks, that’s driving the cost of insurance even higher.”
After a pilot period, the TexasSure database went statewide in October. Some cities have additional penalties, like impounding the vehicle, when they catch people driving without insurance.
“Law enforcement has been waiting a long time for this, insurance companies have been waiting a long time for this,” said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The database, which is refreshed weekly, could put a stop to the “lowlife” trick of buying insurance in order to renew car registration, then dropping it the next day. Rodriguez said the driver who hit him had done this.
More than 30 other states have some type of verification program to check for auto insurance. Each has seen a reduction in the number of uninsured vehicles on the road.
“It’s not an immediate result, sometimes it takes several years,” said Melissa Burkhart of the Texas Department of Insurance. “But every state saw a decline.”
Let’s hope the same happens in Texas.
Note: You’re required by law to carry proof of insurance in your vehicle. For more information on the minimum coverage required under Texas law go to www.TexasSure.com or call 800-252-3439.
Source: Houston Chronicle
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