The statewide database system
for tracking uninsured Utah motorists has been on line
for two months.
It is chalking up notable successes. It also is under
attack by insurance carriers who are now seeking to
have the enabling legislation repealed.
With a commitment from the Utah Department of Safety
and cooperation of the Utah Tax Commission, more than
37,800 uninsured motorists have been brought into compliance
in that time span.
That's a good start toward rounding up more than 320,000
uninsured motorists - one in four - who are lurching
along Utah highways, ignoring letters warning them of
the consequences of noncompliance - and sometimes ending
up in accidents that cause law-abiding drivers grief.
West Jordan Democrat Rep. Kelly Atkinson was turned
back time and again by his legislative colleagues in
his attempt to address the costly problem of uninsured
motorists. His persistence paid off.
The legislature signed on the last session and Atkinson's
insistence that the state do something about uninsured
motorists is bearing results.
All indicators point to a significant impact on the
uninsured motorist population, said Sgt. Verdi White,
public affairs officer for the Department of Public
Safety. The department expects the Utah State Uninsured
Motorist Identification Database to reach its goal of
seeing more than 60 percent of the uninsured motorists
in compliance during the next year.
Utah law requires all vehicles on the roads to be insured. |
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Time and again, blameless motorists involved in vehicle
crashes find themselves at the mercy of their own
insurance carriers, because for whatever reason -
neglect or disregard for the law - of an uninsured
driver.
Atkinson launched his crusade when it became increasingly
clear that motorists were refusing to get their vehicles
insured and the result was a dramatic increase in
insurance premiums for the law-abiding insured motorists.
With the database in place, offenders have been identified
and warning letters sent out. Utahns, recognizing
that they are trapped by the computer, have voluntarily
accepted responsibility.
Not the insurance companies. They object to being
forced to insure deadbeat drivers. They claim the
database system is too expensive, invades privacy
and just won't work.
Atkinson, a West Jordan Democrat, saw his uninsured
motorist bill effectively killed and once vetoed by
Gov. Leavitt, a former insurance company executive,
until 1995.
The uninsured motorist bill protects honest drivers
and ought to drive down premium costs.
The database is online, the statewide tracking system
is producing results, uninsured motorists are being
forced into compliance.
Atkinson's hard-fought legislative battle is paying
dividends. And the beneficiaries are the insured motorists
who have been unduly penalized with higher insurance
rates. The 1996 Legislature should not bow to the
pressure of the insurance industry by repealing a
law that works effectively on behalf of the people.
10/5/97
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