Another Issue For 2009 Legislative Session

[anygunanywhere]

We have a constitutionall right to keep and bear arms.

Driving is a priveledge grnted by the state.

We must maintain insurance as part of the agreement to drive on roads in this state.

We are under more scrutiny after obtaining our CHL to exercise a right than all of the jerks who drive without insurance.

Hammer your senators and representatives about this, folks. Some changes were made last time, but more needs to be done.

[rant]

DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO BE A FELONY. ANYONE CAUGHT DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE SHOULD GO TO THE SLAMMER. ANYONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO SPEND MORE TIME IN THE SLAMMER. ANYONE WHO INJURES OR KILLS SOMEONE IN A WRECK WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO SPEND A REAL LONG TIME IN THE SLAMMER. CONVICTED DUI OR ANYONE CAUGHT DUI WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO GET THE DEATH PENALTY. WELL, SPEND A REAL REAL LONG TIME IN PRISON.

[/RANT]

Thank you for your attention.

[Mike1951]

Stop pussy footing around. How do you really feel?

[Right2Carry]

We have a constitutionall right to keep and bear arms.

Driving is a priveledge grnted by the state.

We must maintain insurance as part of the agreement to drive on roads in this state.

We are under more scrutiny after obtaining our CHL to exercise a right than all of the jerks who drive without insurance.

Hammer your senators and representatives about this, folks. Some changes were made last time, but more needs to be done.

[rant]

DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO BE A FELONY. ANYONE CAUGHT DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE SHOULD GO TO THE SLAMMER. ANYONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO SPEND MORE TIME IN THE SLAMMER. ANYONE WHO INJURES OR KILLS SOMEONE IN A WRECK WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO SPEND A REAL LONG TIME IN THE SLAMMER. CONVICTED DUI OR ANYONE CAUGHT DUI WITHOUT INSURANCE OUGHT TO GET THE DEATH PENALTY. WELL, SPEND A REAL REAL LONG TIME IN PRISON.

[/RANT]

Thank you for your attention.

I agree with most of what you said, I am not sure a first offense should be a felony. I agree stiffer penalties are in order, maybe a felony on the third offense.

[boomerang]

Driving without a license or insurance is worse than carrying without a license and the punishment should reflect that.

Letting an uninsured driver continue to endanger others is irresponsible. Would they allow a drunk driver to do that?

[anygunanywhere]

Would they allow a drunk driver to do that?

Yes.

There are literally thousands of individuals driving with multiple DUIs, no insurance, and no drivers license.

Way back when I was in the Navy stationed in Charleston, SC, drivers were required to have insurance. If your insurance lapsed, within three days SC State Troopers were knocking on your door and taking the tags off of your vehicle.

We submarine sailors used to let our insurance lapse while on patrol. When we would land at the Charleston Air Force Base the State Troopers were waiting with warrants and would escort us to where our vehicles were stored and remove the plates.

I think South Carolina then had a 97% compliance rate for insurance and was one of the first no-fault states IIRC.

Texas can make the insurance thing happen. All it will take is for the legislature to do their job.

LEO could do more by enforcing the laws on the books. Everyone who is stopped with no proof of insurance should have their car impounded and issued citations or arrested.

Anygunanywhere

[thankGod]

If your insurance lapsed, within three days SC State Troopers were knocking on your door and taking the tags off of your vehicle.

That would be a good idea. However, I don't think we have enough manpower to handle all the work that would be required.

[anygunanywhere]

If your insurance lapsed, within three days SC State Troopers were knocking on your door and taking the tags off of your vehicle.

That would be a good idea. However, I don't think we have enough manpower to handle all the work that would be required.

You are correct to a point.

An enormous amount of money is wasted paying for uninsured motorists.

If legislation was enacted that would guarantee license plate removal and the possibiolity of vehicle impoundment for first violation the insurance industry would see massive influx of funds. The compliance rate would sky rocket once assured enforcement started.

I used the South Carolina experience as an example.

IMHO if LEO and the courts enforced the current laws and sent people to the slammer we would have few issues.

Anygunanywhere

[jimlongley]

Way back when I was in the Navy stationed in Charleston, SC, drivers were required to have insurance. If your insurance lapsed, within three days SC State Troopers were knocking on your door and taking the tags off of your vehicle.

We submarine sailors used to let our insurance lapse while on patrol. When we would land at the Charleston Air Force Base the State Troopers were waiting with warrants and would escort us to where our vehicles were stored and remove the plates.

Anygunanywhere

When I was away on cruises I used to suspend my insurance, that way I wouldn't get an automatic bump in rates when I renewed after the cruise. OTOH, I got back from a cruise early once, and drove around, inadvertantly, without insurance for a couple of weeks before remembering to call my agency. Of course this was back in the day when your insurance agent was likely to be a family friend and you dealt with him instead of an impersonal office flack or an over the phone representatvie in some foreign land, all I had to do was call my agent and it was back on, no questions asked and the bill's in the mail.

NY state also had a similar arrangement, if you let your insurance lapse you got a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles wondering if you had gotten rid of the car, and if you didn't reply properly and promptly, you got a visit from law enforcement, Texas just mystifies me in that respect. My stepson played the game for a while, and I caught him at it, and that's part of why he lives with his sister in IL now. He got insurance long enough to get his vehicle registered, and then let it lapse, and no amount of badgering from me, his mother, or his insurance company, would get him to re-instate it, not even his eight days in jail - he was right back doing the same thing after he got out.

[boomerang]

Would they allow a drunk driver to do that?

Yes.

Really? If a driver blows a .15 on the breathalyzer, the cop just writes a ticket and lets him get back in his car and drive away?

[KC5AV]

I've seen multiple instances in the local police write up in a local paper where people are cited for DUI, third or higher offense. Obviously a first or second offense doesn't net them any serious jail time.

[anygunanywhere]

Would they allow a drunk driver to do that?

Yes.

Really? If a driver blows a .15 on the breathalyzer, the cop just writes a ticket and lets him get back in his car and drive away?

I misunderstood you.

You posted:

Letting an uninsured driver continue to endanger others is irresponsible. Would they allow a drunk driver to do that?

I did not see anything in your post that led me to believe you were speaking of "blowing .15 on a breathalyzer". I just misread your mispost.

The state does allow individuals with multiple DUI convictions to drive without a license or insurance. They are walking free. This is the state allowing them to continue to endanger others.

Anygunanywhere

[old farmer]

Afternoon

Texas has direct data base for LEO to check on insurance. http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/auto/frvp.html

"TexasSure: Vehicle Insurance Verification


The State of Texas is implementing a new technology program that will allow law enforcement officers and designated state users to immediately verify whether a person has car insurance. The days of fraudulent or false proof of automobile insurance cards and dropping insurance coverage after receiving a valid insurance card are numbered!



Texas law states that a person may not operate a motor vehicle in this state unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle. Most people do this by buying automobile liability insurance. The law currently requires minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for everyone injured in an accident, and $25,000 for property damage (25/50/25).



TexasSure, Texas' financial responsibility verification program, is a joint project mandated by the 79th Texas Legislature and developed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). The goal: to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas. An estimated 15-20% of all Texas vehicles are uninsured at any given time. Soon, law enforcement officers and other state users will have at their fingertips real-time immediate access to insurance information on a given vehicle and/or driver.



If you have established financial responsibility through an automobile insurance policy, your insurance company will report that information to the state. No action is required on your part unless you are contacted. However, you may wish to verify that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) physically showing on your vehicle is the same as that shown on both your insurance policy and vehicle title and registration. Contact your insurance company if you notice any discrepancies"


But is it being used? I would like the auto to be towed on the spot if there is no insurance. The money from the sale of the auto should go to the LEO fuel funds.

[WarHawk-AVG]

A.. I think repeat offenses should have a multiplier 1st offense x1, 2nd offense x2, 3rd offense x100, see where I'm going with that (fines and jail time are multiple of the same offense) if you hit people hard for doing the same stupid stuff over and over and over..either they learn or on the 3rd strike the fine/jail time is 100 times it would normally be! (this 3 strikes and you are out stuff is stupid because if you do something wrong [failure to appear], then something different [burglary], then something different [stole a loaf of bread] you get put away FOREVER...not right)

B. I think insurance should be electronically tied to your Drivers License..which means if you have a license, YOU are insured..not the vehicle...and since TX has a basic set rate for liability..then everyone is covered (so you can drive your brothers/friends/significant others vehicle and be covered)...now for the comprehensive..that is applied to the vehicle..if you let your Liability insurance laps, your DL is void and the LEO come take your license, not your plates..your plastic in your pocket license..if you drive then and are caught you suffer the penalties of driving w/o a license, it also helps because now you pay a basic rate liability fee (which is usually pretty low) and its directly related to your driving habits
a. get alot of moving violations = get more points = have to pay more
b. get in wrecks = get more points = have to pay more
This way the good drivers aren't penalized by the pinhead bad drivers..the bad drivers now have to pay for their mistakes and they will LEARN that either they drive better or it hits their pocket book really hard
This way the law is encompassing of those who exercise the privilege of driving, and the results of your individual actions directly affect YOU not everyone around you

[txmatt]

For a bunch of pro-2A people I find it surprising how readily y'all embrace a police state when it doesn't concern your firearms.

So instead of enforcing the laws we have now against driving w/out insurance you want to create a huge database of personal information that we have no access to, or make new felony offenses for a victimless crime (yes, driving without insurance is a victimless crime.) This is exactly what the antigunners want to do with their burdensome legislation that does little to deter or prevent gun violence. Does no one see this?

The answer I propose is to enforce the laws we have now, in particular, going after with a vengence anyone without insurance who is involved in an accident and fails to pay up. There are laws in place to deal with this now, but they aren't enforced. If they were then people might think twice about this sort of irresponsible behavior. How many times have you heard of people without insurance being involved in an accident and nothing happening to them? It happens all the time and nothing is done. This is the problem, and it needs to be addressed. Tracking me, who has always had at least basic liability and always will, will not help because I am not the problem. Throwing the book at someone who forgets to put their new insurance card in their wallet will not help either. Going after people who cause accidents and don't pay for the damage they cause is the only real solution.

[drw]

For a bunch of pro-2A people I find it surprising how readily y'all embrace a police state when it doesn't concern your firearms.

My thoughts exactly.