All drivers in Utah are required by law to have auto insurance. Drivers are also required to carry proof of insurance in their car and to show it to a peace officer who might be asking to see it. A penalty of $400 for the first offense and $1000 for the second offense can be imposed if a driver is caught driving without proof of insurance. The driver may also lose his license and/or vehicle registration. On May 5, 2008, a law in Utah took effect. This law allows traffic enforcers to impound a vehicle found to have no insurance coverage. The article stated that right after the implementation yielded results in the first day as a traffic enforcer discovered that a driver requested to pull over already had two DUIs and could not get insurance. This program called “insurance verification program” hopes to reduce the number of uninsured motorists on the road. Authorities hope that motorists will realize the importance of getting car insurance over and above the burden of penalties.
According to the Insurance Research Council (IRC), one in every seven drivers across the United States is uninsured.
IRC found out that economic downturn is the leading cause of increase in the number of uninsured motorists.
In 2009, the five states with the highest uninsured driver estimates were Mississippi (28 percent), New Mexico (26 percent), Tennessee (24 percent), Oklahoma (24 percent), and Florida (24 percent).
The five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Massachusetts (4.5 percent), Maine (4.5 percent), New York (5 percent), Pennsylvania (7 percent), and Vermont (7 percent).
IRC also found out that in 2009, 8% of drivers in Utah are uninsured as compared to the national average of 13.8%.
14% of car accidents are caused by uninsured motorists.
16.1% percent of the drivers are uninsured.
40% of vehicles 15 years and older are uninsured.
Top reasons cited for not having insurance are: vehicle not in operating condition (24%), cannot afford to buy insurance (21%), premiums are too high (20%) and vehicle runs but not being used (17%).
16% of the survey respondents are without car insurance coverage with 50% of these uninsured drivers citing economic hardship as the main reason for their inability to get an insurance policy.
Men ages 18-34 are more likely to drive without insurance than women of the same age group.
Motorists between the ages of 45 to 54 are the highest in terms of driving without insurance. This is 22% of the total respondents.
24% of the respondents were unable to renew their policy before expiration because of financial constraint.
Presently, Utah-aside from the Insurance Verification Program-allows traffic enforcers to impound vehicles with no insurance coverage has looked into the establishment of Uninsured Motorist Identification Database. This is Rule R708-32 that took effect July 1, 2013. The Rule identifies the authorities that can access this database. Hopefully these initiatives can reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road. It is evident that some drivers may not be able to maintain their insurance coverage for a variety of reasons. This is why, even though it costs the responsible drivers more, it is still best to get uninsured motorist coverage to protect yourself and your loved ones. Contact us today at Christensen & Hymas by calling (801) 506-0800 to schedule a free confidential consultation today. To read more, visit our article on uninsured motorist accidents.
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