And unless those people are involved in an accident or pulled over for a traffic violation, they'll likely continue to violate the state's mandatory insurance law without repercussion.

That's because Utah isn't big on proactive enforcement. So far, the state has been content to spend $1 million per year comparing records - auto registrations against information provided by insurance companies - to identify uninsured drivers; He or she gets a letter in the mail as a reminder to obtain proper insurance coverage.

It works for some, probably, but others simply ignore the correspondence and tool on down the road like the gamblers that they are - hoping a cop won't stop them, hoping they won't cause an accident.

The current state program to identify uninsured drivers in administered by Insure-Rite Inc., a company that's contracted with the state to perform the service; funds are derived from a $1 charge on vehicle registrations. What the state wants to know is this: Has this voluntary reminder program actually reduced the number of uninsured drivers on Utah roads since lawmakers created it in 1995?

The current figure of 12 percent is undisputed; state auditors have verified Insure-Rite's numbers. What is impossible to determine, however, is whether that number is less than it was in July 1995, when Insure-Rite established its initial baseline percentage. The company failed to save that data, but now says 23 percent of Utah drivers were uninsured two years ago.

Absent hard numbers and data, some lawmakers are understandably skeptical. They'd like more information with which to make funding decisions during the next legislative session. The goal, obviously, is to reduce the number of uninsured drivers no nil. Is the best way to continue sending reminders in the mail? Or should they begin funding investigators who visit the uninsured at home or work and issue citations?

Insure-Rite executives say they believe the numbers have leveled off, and that more people probably won't respond voluntarily to the reminders. If state auditors agree - and they seem to - it's time for the Legislature to put some teeth into the mandatory auto insurance.