HOUMA, La. —
Uninsured motorists affect everyone around them.
The people who refuse to insure their vehicles increase the amount of money those who do buy insurance have to pay. The resulting increase is not much, but it goes against the principle of fairness.
They can also affect you if they cause a crash and you have no way to be compensated for your losses.
It is possible for a lack of insurance to be due to an oversight or a simple mistake. But much more often, it is the result of a deliberate act: People make the calculation that they are unlikely to be caught, so they go without insurance.
Police will soon have another tool to make that way of thinking less appealing. Beginning Aug. 1, police will be able to tow uninsured vehicles even if it is the driver’s first offense.
The current law allows cars and trucks to be towed, but police must wait until the driver’s second offense.
The change will allow police to get more uninsured drivers off the road. ...
According to the state Department of Insurance, about 14 percent of Louisiana’s drivers are uninsured. That is about one in every seven drivers.
Louisiana’s law-enforcement agencies are unlikely to bring about a 100 percent compliance rate. It is human nature for some people to think they can get away without doing what they should.
But every tool they can use to get the uninsured off the road is welcome, and the effort as a whole will eventually result in lower risk for all of us, including those of us who carry the mandatory insurance coverage.
No one likes paying the monthly bill for auto insurance. Most of us, though, do it because that is part of the state’s deal with us. We get the use of the public roads in exchange for getting a license and the proper paperwork and buying car insurance.
It is a fair deal overall. But the scofflaws who refuse to buy insurance make life tougher on the rest of us.
Giving police another way to persuade them to do the right thing is a wise and overdue action.
Online:
http://www.houmatoday.com
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