Some people see not having car insurance as a saving or that it\’s just an unnecessary tax on them, imposed by what they perceive as a corrupt legal system. This doesn\’t take into account the fact that during an accident you could seriously injure another person and leave them with no financial recourse at all. Plus the penalties for driving without proper liability/motor insurance are becoming far more serious as more and more states start to really crack down on the problem of millions of American motorists driving without insurance cover at all.
If you are pulled over by the police and found to be driving without insurance it\’s important to differentiate between not having proof of insurance with you and simply not having any insurance at all. If you actually have insurance but can\’t show proof to the police you\’ll still receive a ticket but the court can reverse that once you show proof of insurance. If you\’ve decided to simply drive without insurance then that\’s another matter entirely and you\’re looking at facing a variety of penalties and fines, which vary from state to state.
How the case is handled in court will depend on whether or not the vehicle is owned by and registered to you or another person. If the registration is in another person\’s name then that alters how your case will be handled and this is why it\’s essential that you do not speak the prosecutor without seeking proper legal advice.
The first time you\’re pulled over for driving without insurance can and often does result in the following consequences:
- Your license can be suspended for 12 months
- Your vehicle registration can be suspended for 12 months
- You will receive a combination of penalty points and a fine of several hundred dollars
- You may also be given a community service \”sentence\” of several dozen hours
- If you continue driving without proper motor insurance and you\’re pulled over a second time then you\’ve just raised the ante on the penalties you can receive:
- Suspension of your driving license for up to 24 months
- Suspension of your vehicle registration for up to 24 months
- The financial penalties will be a minimum of several hundred dollars, but in most cases will be at least $2,000
- You definitely will be given community service as part of the penalty
You could also be facing jail time – especially if you\’re a repeat offender – in the region of a 6-month sentence.
As we already mentioned the length of time your license is suspended for, the size of the financial penalties and the duration of community service or jail sentence will vary from state to state and also depend entirely on how often you\’ve been caught without proper vehicle insurance.
If you\’re currently driving without proper liability/motor insurance it\’s only a matter of time before you\’re caught. For most people having their license suspended means that they\’re left without any form of transport which could affect their employment prospects, being able to bring their kids to school or just doing something as simple as shopping for groceries each week.
In short driving without insurance really doesn\’t make any sense no matter what angle you look at it from.