Q: Recently, my car was totaled in a hit-and-run. The woman who hit me left because she did not have insurance on her car, which is REQUIRED by state law. I’m not sure how many uninsured cars are on our roads, but it seems like it’s in the MILLIONS. So why doesn’t the state demand proof of insurance as part of license renewal? The woman had her car impounded after it was found, and Los Angeles police wouldn’t let her get it out UNTIL she showed proof of insurance. So she has it NOW, but I’m out my deductible.
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– Parker Cross Jr., San Pedro
A: Kudos to LAPD.
All vehicles that touch a public street or freeway must have insurance, or set up some financial responsibility another way, of course, with proof carried aboard.
“The DMV receives coverage data electronically from insurers,” Ronald Ongtoaboc, a Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson, told Honk in an email. “Most owners are not required to manually show proof during renewals.”
When the DMV learns of canceled or lapsed insurance, it issues a Notice of Intent to Suspend, Ongtoaboc said, and if that problem isn’t fixed within 45 days, the registration is suspended.
Honk asked how many vehicles with suspended registrations are out on the streets and highways.
“This number fluctuates each day, but an estimated average is about 24,000 vehicles with suspended registration and 26,000 vehicles with a notice-of-intent-to-suspend letter due to not having current insurance,” Ongtoaboc said.
What happens to them?
“Owners may face fines, possible impoundment, and liability for damages or injuries they cause,” he said. “If they are involved in a crash that is not their fault, their ability to recover compensation from the at-fault driver may also be limited.”
If you believe this is too loosey-goosey, Parker, your beef is not with the DMV, but with state legislators, who give the agency marching orders by changing the law.
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As of Jan. 1, the DMV says, there were 36,190,654 registered vehicles in California.
Q: This past week I was following two cars from Baja California, Mexico. What I found interesting was that they both had two license plates: One normal one and then another, a decal license plate, on the rear window. I was wondering why is that?
– Mario Luna, Anaheim
A: The press attaché for Mexico’s Office of the Consul General in Los Angeles, Miguel Soto, said that the number on the traditional license plate and the sticker that resembles a license plate is the same for that Mexican state.
The sticker, he said, “must be affixed to the inside of the vehicle in a location clearly visible from the outside.”
Honk figures that combo makes it more difficult for someone to steal and improperly use the traditional license plate.
Mexico’s other 30 states might have different regulations: “Every state has their own rules and procedures about it,” Soto told Honk.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
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