Oklahoma House Bill Would Impound Uninsured Vehicles

NewsOn6.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Individuals driving a car without insurance could have their automobile impounded under legislation filed by state Rep. Steve Martin of Dewey. 

"This bill addresses one of the most consistent demands of voters in my district and across the state. That demand is to get uninsured motorists off of the roads," said Martin (R-Nowata, Washington, Osage Counties). "New technology now allows us to do just that." 

House Bill 2331, authored by Martin with the assistance of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, takes advantage of a recently activated instant-verification system available to law enforcement officers. The system enables officers to determine within seconds if vehicles are covered by qualifying liability insurance.

"Law enforcement officers in adequately computerized patrol cars can now enter a license tag number into a data base. Eight seconds later they know if the car is insured," Martin said. "If the patrol car is not computerized, the officer can call the tag number in to his dispatcher and get the same results."

Under House Bill 2331, if a car is uninsured, it would be seized immediately by the officer and towed to an impoundment lot until all of the requirements of the law are satisfied. 

The instant verification system, ordered by an act of the state legislature in 2006, has been created through cooperation of the insurance industry and the State of Oklahoma. It is now fully operational and has been available to law enforcement for several months. Up to this time, however, law enforcement has had no power to seize an uninsured vehicle or to use results of the instant verification system as a primary cause to stop a vehicle. Law enforcement would have both of these tools available upon passage of House Bill 2331. 

"It has been estimated that one in four cars on Oklahoma roads has no liability insurance in spite of our mandatory insurance law," Martin said. "We have all heard the tragic stories of victims of uninsured motorists. This is a positive step for the citizens of Oklahoma."