Uninsured motorists

For a number of years, the Southeast Missourian has advocated closer scrutiny of uninsured motorists in Jefferson City. As we've said before, the computer age should make comparisons between databases of motor vehicle registrations and automobile insurance policies a relatively simple task.

A couple of years ago, the Missouri Department of Revenue set up that very process. The department's Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau checks up on discrepancies in an effort to make sure vehicles on the road are properly insured.

In the past two years, the bureau has sent 6,000 letters a month to motorists whose registration and insurance records don't match up. In that period more than 10,000 Missourians have had their driver's licenses suspended because they could not provide proof of insurance or because they did not respond to the bureau's inquiries.

Out of all those suspensions, bureau officials say, fewer than 10 were suspended improperly.

That's a pretty good record for a statewide bureaucracy. But it does raise concerns for law-abiding Missourians who might fail to respond to bureau inquiries because they are on vacation or away from home for long periods of time for legitimate reasons.

In the few cases where licenses have been mistakenly suspended over questions about auto insurance, the bureau has made a good-faith effort to restore driving privileges with as little hassle as possible.

Each month the bureau has a pool of more than 80,000 vehicles that appear to have discrepancies regarding insurance. It's too bad all of them don't receive notification from the bureau instead of just the 6,000 picked at random.

Uninsured motorists are a big expense to Missouri motorists who are required to maintain, as part of their auto coverage, insurance to cover uninsured motorists.

The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau has taken a big step in the right direction by cracking down on some of the uninsured scofflaws who operate vehicles on our highways. Another big step would be to find a way to get tough with anyone who drives without proper auto insurance.