New Law Threatens Big Fines For California Drivers
By: Gary Hollins -
If you don't have auto insurance in California, you'd better hurry
up and get some.
Starting October 1st, drivers in California have an additional reason
to maintain their car insurance policies. The California DMV now
has access to driver s individual data showing whether motorists
have let their policies lapse.
In the light of the new law, people are looking to find faster ways
to get car insurance in a hurry to avoid the laws and penalties,
especially through online sites.
Senator Jackie Spear, who wrote the bill, which goes into effect,
says although California s drivers laws already requires motorists
to carry proof of insurance with them at all times when they drive,
many motorists on the road still don t.
"People found a clever way around it. They would get insurance when
they had to register their vehicle and a month later they would
cancel it, Spears remarked.
The newly enacted bill now requires insurance companies in California
to electronically report to the DMV who is buying liability insurance
and who is canceling it. State and local law agencies will now have
access to that insurance information during traffic stops, and will
write up non-compliant drivers without a policy. Violators who do
not have insurance at the time they are pulled over will face stiff
fines.
"They will be slapped with a $250 fee that, with enhancements, is
almost $700. Plus you're going to have to get auto insurance, so
it's a sting of about $1000," Spear remarked during an interview
with KCBS TV in San Francisco.
The fear of these new fines, along with the rising costs of living,
and the need to find ways to streamline personal expenses, are sending
people online to find insurance due to its lower policy rates and
overall convenience.
Insurance-Info-Center.com, a national online insurance quote site,
offers free, no-obligation auto insurance quotes that, on average,
lowers the standard rates of a typical user by an average of $451
a year.
Senator Spear was also the writer of a 1996 bill that requires proof
of liability insurance. She stated that since it's passed, the number
of uninsured drivers in accidents has been reduced by 50 percent.
Get a free online car
insurance quote today from Insurance-Info-Center.com and save
up to $450 on your car insurance.
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