Faced with increasing numbers of uninsured drivers, the state of Texas has put in place a revolutionary new system to help enforcers catch motorists driving without insurance.
Because of concerns that more vehicular accidents will involve uninsured drivers, four Texas departments have teamed up to identify uninsured cars on the state’s roads and highways.
The state’s Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, Department of Insurance, and the Department of Information Resources have pooled their resources together to create a new statewide database of live auto insurance policies.
Dubbed TexaSure, the system matches policies provided by some 200 companies with about 21 million registered cars and vehicles. By linking the different departments and law enforcement agencies, the state hopes to net more uninsured vehicles and motorists during routine traffic stops.
Law enforcers are warning drivers against driving without proper insurance. Sgt. Joshua Mason of the Department of Public Safety says that getting on the road without insurance can cost Texans more in the end.
Mason says that checking for insurance is a major concern in traffic stops and police officers take them seriously. Drivers are usually issued citations and fined if found without insurance papers. The many counties in Texas are seeing one or two drivers pulled over by troopers for not having insurance policies, he adds.
The police officer also says that aside from the citation, the state places a surcharge on the motorist’s license for up to three years. Driving without appropriate license can also lead to the cancellation of the driver’s license.
A recent survey revealed that a fifth of drivers involved in vehicular accidents do not have insurance coverage. As a result, some 17 million Texan motorists have to pay millions in repairs and insurance claims to protect themselves. Insured parties can be held liable in accidents involving uninsured drivers.
In the past, motorists caught without the necessary papers simply claim that they have insurance coverage but not the documents. With TexaSure, the state says that troopers can check the validity of their claims using computers onboard their cruisers.
The database is updated regularly whenever motorists renew a policy. The different insurance providers supply the information to the TexaSure system, giving troopers on the field instant access to data regarding the status of motorists suspected of not having proper insurance.
Even tax offices across the state have access to the database. The unified system is poised to make the work of law enforcers and tax agents easier by reducing the amount of time needed to confirm the existence of an insurance policy by the driver.
