Senator Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, and Rep. Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage, recently introduced legislation to expand Missouri liability laws to out-of-state drivers. Current law requires Missouri drivers to maintain liability insurance, but does not include drivers registered outside of the state.
This weakness in Missouri law came to light after a Jasper County resident was hit by an Oklahoma driver in Joplin. Police could not cite the other driver for not having insurance because the vehicle was registered out-of-state. The local driver did not have comprehensive coverage and did not have the money to repair her damaged vehicle.
“This citizen was doing everything the state asked of her — maintaining insurance, paying property taxes, and keeping her registration current — but she was left helpless because the state does not have laws to protect Missouri citizens from uninsured out-of-state drivers,” said Sen. Nodler. “This is a weakness in Missouri law that must be addressed out of fairness to all law-abiding drivers in the state.”
Specifically, Senate Bill 902 and House Bill 1996 would require non-residents to adhere to the financial responsibility laws of their state of residence, allowing Missouri law enforcement to hold out-of-state drivers responsible for not having auto insurance. All 50 states have state minimum insurance requirements, but the amount of liability insurance required varies from state to state.
If out-of-state drivers are not in compliance with their state’s requirements, they would be guilty of a class C misdemeanor and would have their driving privileges in Missouri suspended. The Missouri Department of Revenue would also notify the state in which the driver resides of the offense.
“This legislation will provide law enforcement officials the ability to take action and will ensure that these uninsured drivers are held responsible,” said Sen. Nodler. “I am hopeful my colleagues in the General Assembly will join Representative Flanigan and me in bringing equity to Missouri’s insurance laws.”
Monday, February 08, 2010
Nodler introduces bill to strengthen auto insurance laws
A bill introduced by Gary Nodler in the Senate and Tom Flanigan in the House is designed to eliminate a loophole in Missouri auto insurance law. The following news release was issued today:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
All states do not have mandatory auto insurance laws. New Hampshire does not, and Wisconsin will not have the law until June.
In addition, Montana and Washington do not require insurance for motor cyclists.
Another looophole is the fact that every motor vehicle in the country can be insured, yet the drivers may not be listed on the policies. That is still driving without insurance since the insurance company did not authorize the driver to be covered.
Another problem with mandatory auto insurance laws is that they are increasing the nrs on food stamps. A food stamp survey, done in Billings, MT, in Ocotober of 2004, by the Montana DPHHS, showed that 12 of the 96 food stamp applicants said auto insurance was a reason for needing food stamps. That equals 30,000 over the last 20 years in Montana. Survey is at http://www.foodstampstudy.com
But let's just ignore this problem and maybe it will go away.
To Anonymous 11:21am:
I invite you to present your findings berfore the House Committee that will hear this bill. Please contact me
@573-751-5458.
Tom Flanigan, Sponsor HB 1996
State Representative, Dist. 127
State Capitol
Jefferson City, Mo 65101
Post a Comment