1 in 4 Oklahoma Drivers Uninsured, Cars Can Now Be Towed

By Adrianna Iwasinski, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Governor Henry recently signed a bill into law giving law officers the go ahead to impound uninsured vehicles.

The author of the bill, state Representative Steve Martin of Broken Arrow, said he wrote the bill after several people approached him about how many uninsured drivers there are out on the road.

Chuck Mai with AAA said one in four drivers on Oklahoma roads do not have car insurance. According to a study done by the Insurance Research Council, Oklahoma is among the worst rated states for uninsured drivers, ranking fourth overall.

"But so many folks are disregarding that they say, 'Well, I don't have the money. I'll get it next month,' or 'I just don't think I'll get caught.' So there's a lot of flaunting of that law going on," Mai said.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers already have onboard computers that can instantly tell if drivers have insurance or not just by entering a tag number.

Right now, the Oklahoma City Police Department is checking into how this new law will impact their workload. A spokesperson with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's office said it will not increase their workload since the computer system is already in place.

"I think it's a very good thing the legislators have done, giving us an additional tool to insure the safety of the motoring public," said Oklahoma Highway Trooper Michael Lane.

The law goes into effect November 1.

If a car is impounded, drivers will have to pay at least $125 after just one night and will need to have proof of insurance to get it out.

Minimum liability insurance can cost an average of $30 a month.