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Did you know that 1 out of every 6 vehicles on Georgia roads does not have liability insurance? I know this because my insurance company adds 17 percent to my liability insurance premium to cover me and my passengers in case I am hit by a motorist who does not have liability insurance. I am paying extra money to insure myself against damage caused by someone who is breaking the law.
I wrote to our insurance commissioner asking him to look into this. His response was that the Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, not he, is responsible for enforcing the law requiring all vehicles to be covered by liability insurance.
The Web site at the Georgia Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division site offers a clue as to why these laws are not being enforced very well.
There are six pages under the heading penalties and fines. Our legislators goofed when they assigned enforcement to the Department of Revenue because they only assess penalties and fines administratively.
There is no mention of positive enforcement like having a person look at a list of vehicle identification numbers that do not have insurance, locate that vehicle and arrest the owner if it is being driven with no liability insurance. In my opinion, this should be done by someone from the state patrol or the local sheriff's office.
I have asked our state legislators to straighten this out by putting some teeth into the vehicle liability laws. If they do, it will save a lot of Georgians some money and will get a lot of uninsured drivers off the road.
Jim Waldrep
Lula