Uninsured Drivers Beware - Don’t Mess With Texas

Some people without car insurance take their chances. Maybe they drive cars that are only worth a little more than the cost of a six-month car insurance policy, so they don't see the logic in paying. After all, if they get in a wreck, they would prefer to just get another junker from the classifieds. As for the damage they cause to other people, well that's up to them, right? And as for the "crime" of driving without car insurance, the law doesn't seem fair to most uninsured drivers to begin with, and with tickets for driving uninsured around $200, they decide to take their chances.

Are Uninsured Drivers Smarter Than Their Insured Peers?

Believe it or not, most uninsured drivers have a more intelligent take on car insurance than many insured drivers do. They see car insurance as a financial product - something that should be for their benefit - and they weigh the pros and cons of having it versus not having it, and make what they consider to be an intelligent decision. Comparatively, many insured drivers just buy car insurance "because they have to" and consider it to be a simple out-of-pocket expense like license-plate fees - not the financial product that it is.

But here is where uninsured drivers are wrong: Laws that mandate that all drivers have car insurance aren't unfair, and the damages they cause to other people and their cars are not solely the responsibility of the other drivers. The more uninsured drivers there are on the road, the more car insurance costs for everyone, and that is what's not fair. But this is what economists call the "freeloader effect," and despite the immorality of it, freeloading can be a "rational" act. It is up to the law to make freeloading not worth it, and in Texas, this is what legislators have done.

Two Strikes and You're Out - Uninsured Drivers in Texas Can Have Their Cars Towed

Laws currently in the books in Texas allow police to tow the cars of uninsured drivers - after they've been given one warning. If enforced, this would certainly diminish the "freeloader effect" and make the cost of driving uninsured much higher. But unfortunately, most city and county police have no mechanism for dealing with all of the cars that would be impounded. San Antonio and Dallas, however, are exceptions to this rule, and they do routinely impound the cars of uninsured drivers.

But Texas state legislators are trying to go one step further and take away the first-offense warning. They believe that this would force local police departments to develop the systems necessary to manage the impounded cars, and thus, the law would be enforced more vigorously. The net effect would be fewer uninsured drivers in the Lone Star State - where currently upwards of twenty percent drive uninsured - and lower car insurance rates for everyone.

What if You Are Uninsured?

If you've made the calculated decision to drive uninsured, congratulations on thinking things through. Unfortunately, you are violating the law, and as states increasingly crack down on car-insurance-related crimes, you are likely to come under increasing scrutinty. In fact, Michigan has recently raised the fines associated with driving uninsured, and it suspends the licenses of offenders who cannot prove that they have car insurance within the next thirty days. Why go through all the drama? Just use carinsurancerates.com to find yourself the best deal. You'll be safe and legal, and that peace of mind alone is worth a healthy portion of your premiums.