The State of Missouri is finally getting tough on an issue that has bewildered me for quite sometime. The issue is uninsured motorists on Missouri roadways. And the problem is much larger than you can imagine.
In the past two years alone, the Department of Revenue has suspended the drivers' licenses of over 10,000 Missourians because they lacked insurance on their vehicles. That move is long overdue and is really a credit to some strong and appropriate enforcement of the law. Let's hope the effort continues and grows.
Uninsured motorists cost each and every Missourian. But costs aside, it's simply against the law to drive an uninsured vehicle yet thousands do it every day of the week. When they are involved in an accident, it's the law-abiding, insurance paying public that bears the burden. It should not be this way.
Here's something that's amazing to me. On an average month, the state of Missouri has a pool of 82,000 vehicles on the roadways that are uninsured. If we'll take away the licenses of those drivers and force them to purchase insurance, all Missourians will benefit.
Here's what happens. A person purchases auto insurance in order to license their vehicle. But they pay that insurance in monthly increments. When they receive their license from the state, they drop their insurance coverage and drive uninsured. Two years down the road when their licenses are up for renewal, they repeat the process.
It takes time and effort but if we'll just enforce rigorously the laws that are on the books in Missouri we'll remove many of our problems. The increased efforts by the Department of Revenue forms an excellent starting point.