Billy Zoom wrote:
>In California, it became mandatory in the '90s....
>
I think, Billy, you are confused about the administrative enforcement of
the insurance requirement. Prior to, as I recall, 1992, the requirement
for insurance was administered by the California Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) under California Vehicle Code (CVC). Again, as I recall
the entire requirements were in Chapter 15000 or 16000 (can look it up
if anyone is interested). If someone was involved in an accident,
whether it was their fault or not, they had to provide DMV with evidence
that they had a certain minimum amount of insurance. Failing that, DMV
automatically revoke their driver's license and the license plates to
any vehicle registered in their name. Only then f they were caught
driving while their license was revoked, did CVC 14601 allow a police
officer to either arrest them and take them to jail (done that), or
simply issue a citation that carried a fine equal to that of drunk driver.
Unfortunately, too many people were not accepting their responsibility
to carry insurance, and a change was needed. The CVC change you are
referring to required that a driver carry evidence of insurance
coverage, and produce it when requested by a police officer. Failing to
carry that insurance could result in a citation. Administration of the
section had therefore changed from DMV to the cop on the beat.
The problem in California, of course, is that the hordes of
"undocumented aliens" from our Southern Border just don't carry
insurance. It has been estimated that 40% of drivers on the road today
do not have 1) a driver's license, or 2) insurance. About 10 years ago,
my wife was in the process of making a left turn in a marked left turn
pocket.. Suddenly, a car tried to pass her ON THE LEFT!!! There was
$3,000 damage, the cop wrote a citation, and Jose was then long gone and
hard to find back in Mexico. A neighbor had his car totalled by a
carload of "day laborers" speeding out of a bar parking lot. As he was
bleeding in his car, they had scattered to the winds.
Buster Evans
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