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SB19 to fuel crackdown on uninsured motorists

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by Steve Vert

SBJ Contributing Writer

Tactics for the next phase of the campaign against uninsured motorists can be found in this year's motor vehicle bill, Senate Bill 19.

Passed by the General Assembly, the 200-page measure needs only the governor's signature to modify legislation that went into effect last year and add a new weapon to the arsenal against drivers who fail to carry state-required liability insurance.

"Uninsured motorists are an ongoing problem," said Sen. Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, the bill's sponsor. "It's never going to be completely cured, but we have to keep trying to close the loopholes and make enforcement better."

The first gap in the current law that critics wanted to close was one that allowed motorists to insure vehicles, obtain registration and then allow coverage to lapse. Department of Insurance spokesman Randy McConnell said the bill should help close that loophole because it requires insurance policies be issued for a minimum of three months.

"The three-month provision means that only insurance cards for policies of that term qualify drivers to register their cars," McConnell said. "We know of three insurers that issue one-month policies, which almost all are designed as an end-run around the financial responsibility law. The three-month minimum at least provides a stronger psychological bent away from the one-month policy."

Although the bill doesn't change the requirement that an insurance card be presented when registering a vehicle, the bill does affect what happens if a driver is unable to do so at the request of law enforcement, said Rich Lamb, deputy director of the Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle and Drivers Licensing Division.

"The officer will issue a ticket for driving without insurance," Lamb said. "If the motorist is able to prove to the judge that insurance was in effect at the time of the officer's request, the court will dismiss the ticket."

But if no proof is forthcoming, Lamb added, the judge will have three options:

?Find the person guilty and forward the ticket to the Department of Revenue's motor vehicle division for an assessment of four points against his or her driving record. Lamb said the legislation repeals the officer-notification provision, making any action taken by the department contingent upon direction from the court.

?Send notice to the motor vehicle division to suspend the person's driving privileges.

?Enter an order of court supervision. Court-ordered supervision is new in Missouri, Lamb said. Modeled on a similar law in Illinois, it allows judges greater leeway in dealing with offenders.

The measure also creates two new crimes both Class A misdemeanors. The bill makes it a crime to display evidence of insurance to law enforcement knowing there is no valid insurance, and to alter an invalid insurance card to make it appear valid. "We hope these changes will help to shift an administrative system run out of the Department of Revenue to one that is court-driven," Goode said.

Supporters hope another part of the bill, which authorizes the department to establish a database to verify compliance with Missouri's financial responsibility laws, will help reduce the number of uninsured motorists.

"The database is not an easy thing to do," Goode said. "But several states are doing it, and with the advancements in technology, it's more realistic now. Most of the larger insurance companies are geared up to provide the information electronically."

Once the bill is signed, Lamb said, the department would convene a working group to complete many of the details, including when, where and by whom the database would be used.

He pointed out that the bill's database provisions aren't effective until July 1, 2001.

"We didn't write a detailed system into the law," Goode said. "Because it's going to take a lot of further research, we're leaving a lot of the details to the department."

So far, response to SB19 has been limited local law enforcement officials and insurance professionals aren't familiar enough with its content to gauge its impact on future policies.

However, Lt. Ron Hutcheson, police traffic commander, said he's in favor of anything that might "reduce the 2,369 citations my officers issued for failure to provide proof of insurance during 1998."

Dick Jackson, president and chief executive officer of Barker Phillips Jackson, said for the revised system to be effective, society must begin to create the same atmosphere around driving without insurance that surrounds driving under the influence of alcohol.

Jackson said the bill met some resistance in the industry because the database represented extra work companies won't be compensated for, and historically there has been a lack of enforcement support on mandatory insurance laws.

The industry, Jackson said, "supported this bill essentially by holding its nose.

"Talking with my friends who are students of the industry, for all practical purposes, we see this bill having little effect on the number of uninsured motorists," he added.

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