Caught without car insurance? Your car could be towed away!

Jun 30, 2015 at 03:00 am by bryan


A new law that goes into effect on Wednesday (July 1, 2015) means drivers in Tennessee caught without insurance could have their car towed.

House Bill 606, which was approved earlier this year and is now law, is aimed at getting uninsured drivers off the roads.

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Starting in July, law enforcement will be authorized to have someone's vehicle towed if they're caught driving without insurance.

The law also triples the fine from $100 to $300.

The move also aims to make it easier for law enforcement and DMV clerks to determine if a driver has insurance, whether they have proof or not.

A new system that will be in place by summer 2016 will allow authorities to ping a vehicle's VIN, so a database can relay whether the owner has insurance.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, Tennessee had the sixth highest rate of uninsured motorists in the country in 2012, with 20.1 percent.

The national average that year was 12.6 percent.

More details on the new law:

This bill requires that if there is evidence based on either the IICMVA or the full book of business reporting that a motor vehicle is not insured for three consecutive months, the department of revenue must direct the designated agent to provide notice to the owner of the motor vehicle that the owner has 15 days to provide: proof of owner or operator's security; proof of exemption from the owner or operator's security requirements; proof that the motor vehicle is no longer in the owner's possession; or a statement the vehicle is not in use on any public road. If an owner of a motor vehicle fails to provide satisfactory proof or a statement, the bill provides for further notification to the owner, the database, and local law enforcement agencies, and for revocation of registration under certain circumstances. A person who provides a false or fraudulent statement to the department of revenue or the designated agent commits a Class B misdemeanor offense.

This bill requires that at the time application is made for reinstatement or renewal of registration of a motor vehicle after a revocation of the registration, the applicant must pay a registration reinstatement fee of $300. The registration reinstatement fee may be waived under certain circumstances. Of the total reinstatement fee amount, $290 dollars will be deposited into the "uninsured motorist identification restricted fund" (created by this bill) to be used for the administration of the insurance verification program and $10 dollars will be transmitted to the county clerk for the county in which the vehicle is registered.
The program will be installed and fully operational by January 1, 2017, following a 12-month implementation period. Until the successful completion of the 12-month implementation period, no law enforcement action may be taken based on the system.

This bill specifies that in cases where an officer is authorized or required by present law to request evidence of financial responsibility, if the driver of a motor vehicle fails to show an officer evidence of financial responsibility or provide the officer with evidence of a motor vehicle liability policy as evidence of financial responsibility, the officer shall rely on the information provided by the online electronic insurance verification program for the purpose of verifying evidence of liability insurance coverage.

Source:

Partner Station WMSR

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