Kansas Bill Would Make Driving Without Insurance a Felony With Third Conviction
The Wichita Eaglereports that the state of Kansas is considering bills that would make driving with insurance a felony after the third conviction. One bill would also make it murder (instead of manslaughter) to kill someone in accident without insurance.
To lessen the number of uninsured drivers on state roads, two Kansas senators recently introduced bills to strengthen state law.
One would create stricter civil and criminal penalties for uninsured drivers. Kansas law now says first-time offenders must pay fines between $300 to $1,000 in addition to losing their driver's licenses and vehicle plates, both of which can be reinstated through payment of a fee and proof of insurance coverage.
Under the new proposal, a third conviction for driving without coverage would be considered a felony and, if the uninsured driver caused the death of someone through an auto accident, the driver would be charged with murder instead of manslaughter.
The second bill would require insurance companies to notify the Kansas Department of Revenue when a policyholder either cancels coverage or obtains a new policy. A new Revenue Department computer system would track changes to identify drivers who cancel policies and do not obtain new ones. Under existing state law, uninsured drivers can be fined and face jail time.
The article says Kansas has an estimated uninsured motorist rate of 8 or 9%. That's low compared to some states like Texas and Oklahoma which have about 18%. Colorado has the highest according to this article with 32% of drivers uninsured. (via AutoBlog)
