Houston, We Have A Problem: Uninsured Drivers Causing Car Accidents

Any idea how long you’ve been buying car insurance in case of a traffic accident? Any idea how much money you’ve spent adhering to Texas law by being an insured driver? And any idea how many people pay no attention whatsoever to this law and who drive anyway — with no car insurance?

Very many, that’s how many. Solely in Houston, its estimated that 15 per cent of drivers roar and clunk away on public streets and freeways without the auto insurance required of them by Texas law. And they know its required, since many have received tickets for having no car insurance. They just haven’t bothered to pay. They figure if they cause a car accident, then the insured motorist who wasn’t at fault can recover their own damages.

Of course, that’s not only gallingly unfair but can be difficult to achieve. If an uninsured driver causes an auto accident, the insured driver is stuck seeking financial recovery from his or her insurance provider. And insurance companies can be stingy, especially when they’re expected to pay for damages caused by someone other than their client that is, an uninsured motorist.

Why does this problem persist? Ineffective enforcement is a big reason. In Houston alone, officers have issued 30,000 citations for having no car insurance over the past two years. Yet those same ticketed motorists keep on driving without insurance.

That’s because Houston fails to put any sting into such enforcement. But other cities do, including the Houston-area municipalities of Pasadena and Richmond. Each has begun enforcing the law by impounding the vehicles of those who are caught driving without insurance. Has this worked? There’s nothing like a bare driveway for a motivator. In Richmond, tickets to uninsured drivers have declined by almost one-third since the impounding initiative began. That’s what you call results.

Has it worked? Does a bare driveway send a message? Yes and yes. Tickets to uninsured drivers in Richmond have declined by almost a third since such impounding began. Word has gotten out: Get insurance or lose your car.

But in Houston the problem persists while law-abiding drivers insurance rates go up to make up for the costs of uninsured drivers.

Fed up yet? You should be. But don’t stew alone. Tell your city council that uninsured drivers should not be allowed to roam freely on public roads. And if such an uninsured driver or any other hurts you in a collision, let a car accident lawyer or auto accident attorney apply more pressure. A personal injury lawyer wont allow guilty drivers to cruise away without consequence. Rather, in the mode of Richmond and Pasadena, a car accident lawyer can hit offenders where they hurt the most: in the pocketbook. Then even deadbeat drivers should get in gear, and join the rest of us as legally insured Texas motorists.