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01/30/06 Towing
Controversy
It's hard to understand the
controversy about towing uninsured cars. Don't
wait for an accident to take that car to the pound, do it at traffic
stops.
When I was reading up on the subject, one of the studies (out
of California if I recall correctly) made the
assertion that one third of the
drivers (those with no insurance) were responsible
for two thirds of the accidents. If this is the case, then the case
against uninsured drivers should be an easy one to make a decision about.
Here's an excerpt, with attribution so anyone who wants to look it up will be
able to do so, that goes a long way toward answering some of the
questions and concerns about this issue.
Lax enforcement
makes matters worse. It reduces the probability of being caught and
increases the likelihood that a motorist will drive without
insurance (NAIC 1989a). When the fine for driving without insurance
is $100, and when the probability of being caught driving with no insurance
is 0.05, the expected opportunity cost of driving without insurance is $5
($100 x 0.05). Juxtaposed against the $800 or more an inner city motorist
has to pay to be in compliance, it is not too difficult to see in what
direction the pull will be for the low wealth individual, the
unemployed worker, or the low income young motorist. The nature of the
penalty also matters. If the penalty for driving
without insurance is of a type that involves, for
example, impounding the car or revoking the driver's license,
the opportunity cost would have been higher, and most likely the
number of uninsured motorists would have been smaller.
Evidence suggests that by increasing the probability of being discovered,
database matching has brought about a reduction in the percentage of
uninsured vehicles, at least in states for which we have data. For example,
in Utah the percentage of uninsured vehicles dropped from 17.5% in
January 1996 to 11.9% in April 1997 (Hunter 1997). In 1998 Utah's bill SB 6
allowed the revocation of registration upon conviction for no insurance and
raised the minimum fine for no insurance (Utah
Driver License Division 1999). In the meantime, database matching and
identification of the uninsured vehicles continued
on a monthly basis. By February 1999, the percentage of uninsured vehicles
dropped to 10% (Utah State Tax Commission 1999). |
From: What We Know About Uninsured Motorists and How Well
We Know What We Know, J. Daniel Khazzoom December
1997, Revised April 2000 .Discussion Paper 98-09-REV
--
John Willis
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