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You better have car insurance
(Victoria Advocate (TX) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 7--Richard Hogue considers himself lucky.
In June, a Cadillac struck the driver's side back door of Hogue's Honda Civic at the corner of Sarah and Esplanade streets in Cuero.
"If I hadn't looked up and seen her coming, she would have hit me on the driver's door," said Hogue. "I saw her, stepped on it, and luckily it caught the back panel. With that big ol' Cadillac and my little ol' car, I would have been hurt for sure."
Hogue, 75, was uninjured.
Hogue's car is still drivable, but a huge dent remains and the inside has been pushed in, too. Repairs have been estimated at about $3,000.
The driver of the Cadillac did not have insurance.
"Everyone ought to have at least liability insurance," Hogue said. "If everyone had that, no one would have to worry about getting their car fixed. I don't know what's going to happen. I need my car fixed. Although I'm able to drive, it doesn't look so good."
Hogue said he isn't quite sure what is going on with his insurance company either --"they're dragging their feet" --but is sure it has something to do with the other driver not being covered.
"Right is right and wrong is wrong if you violate the law. The law is for everyone," said Hogue, a former Cuero police chief.
The Cadillac's driver was charged with failure to maintain financial responsibility and no drivers license.
If state officials are right, a new program to help crack down on uninsured drivers will help reduce these situations. In late June, the state unveiled TexasSure, a new program to identify vehicles without liability insurance.
"For too long, having a collision in Texas has been like playing a game of Russian roulette, where you never know whether the at-fault driver is carrying the required insurance," said Department of Public Safety Trooper Lt. Louis Sanchez. "Because of TexasSure, we believe drivers now will be far more likely to get and keep a liability policy when they realize we have a way to identify phony proof-of-insurance cards and catch those who cancel their policy as soon as they get their cars registered or inspected."
The goal is to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles in Texas, currently estimated at about 4 million, according to joint news release from the state's Department of Insurance, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety and Department of Information Resources.
"Many different stakeholders helped to develop the technology system needed to make this work. I commend all the state agencies and those in the insurance industry for putting together this one-of-a-kind solution," said Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin. "Any tool that helps us reduce the number of uninsured vehicles is good news for law-abiding Texans with coverage."
The program is being "test-driven" so to speak in the Austin area. The new database verification program will be fully implemented statewide later this year. TxDOT and county tax officials have begun using the database in local county tax offices for vehicle registration.
The officer will be able to verify insurance information when he checks the driver's identification.
Despite the implementation of the new system, motorists are still required to carry proof of insurance in their vehicles.
Victoria County Tax Assessor/Collector Rena Scherer said her office is using the new system and it seems to be working well "as long as the insurance companies have supplied the information."
More than 200 insurance companies in the state are now required to send policy information each week to the TexasSure vendor, and it is matched to TxDOT's vehicle registration records.
The initial cost of the program is roughly $7 million. The money comes from a portion of the $1 fee drivers pay when they apply for or renew their motor vehicle registration, according to the news release.
What is minimum automobile insurance coverage?
As of April 1, the Texas Transportation Code requires minimum coverage of $25,000 per injured person, up to a total of $50,000 for everyone injured in an accident, and $25,000 for property damage. This basic coverage is called 25/50/25 coverage. These limits will increase to 30/60/25 on Jan. 1, 2011.
What is the cost of not having insurance?
The first conviction may result in a fine up to $350 plus court costs and possible additional fees, as authorized by Transportation Code Chapter 708. Subsequent convictions can result in fines of $350 to $1,000 and suspension of your driver license.
To learn more about the new program cracking down on uninsured drivers go to www.TexasSure.com.
To see more of Victoria Advocate, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Victoria Advocate, Texas
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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