LINGERING LIABILITY; MISSOURI STRENGTHENS VEHICLE INSURANCE LAW; PROOF OF INSURANCE REQUIRED

Missouri faces a lingering liability problem when it comes to auto insurance.

Many motorists routinely ignore the state's existing financial responsibility law, state officials and law enforcement officers say.

State records indicate that more than 269,000 of the 3.7 million-plus registered cars and lightweight trucks weren't insured for liability in 1996.

In response, the state has enacted a new law that strengthens the vehicle insurance requirements.

The new law takes effect Jan. 1. It requires Missourians to annually show proof of insurance when they register their vehicles at license bureaus.

Vehicle owners currently have to sign a statement declaring that they have insurance, but they don't have to show any proof.

Under the new law, motorists face misdemeanor charges if they don't have proof of insurance when requested by law enforcement officers. But the law provides that motorists won't be convicted if they can show a judge that they had liability coverage at the time in question.

Even with the new law, motorists will continue to face the possibility of having their licenses suspended for 60 days to two years by the Department of Revenue under an administrative procedure. The length of the suspension is determined by whether it is a first, second or third offense.

A report released last month by the Missouri Department of Insurance concludes that 7.2 percent of passenger cars and trucks weren't insured last year.

In Southeast Missouri, the percentage of uninsured vehicles was even higher, totaling 8.4 percent in the 19-county area.

In nine counties, the uninsured rate was in double digits.

Pemiscot County led the region in the percentage of uninsured vehicles. Nearly 24 percent of the registered vehicles in the county were uninsured last year. The county ranks second only behind St. Louis city in terms of the percentage of uninsured vehicles, the Department of Insurance said.

Still, the situation has improved since 1994 when 11 percent of passenger cars and trucks were uninsured, Insurance Department officials said.

The situation also has improved in Southeast Missouri where the percentage of uninsured vehicles totaled nearly 16 percent in 1994.

But law enforcement officials and others say the data can be misleading.

The Insurance Department report matches insurance policy records and Revenue Department registration figures.

Vehicles don't have to be registered at the same address as listed for an insurance policy. As a result, some counties and cities show more liability insurance policies than vehicles, resulting in negative numbers.

Bollinger, Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties in Southeast Missouri all fall in this category, according to the state report.

But Capt. Jim Watson of the Missouri Highway Patrol doesn't believe there is a single county in the state where all the licensed vehicles are insured.

"The data is sort of loosey, goosey," agreed Randy McConnell, Department of Insurance spokesman.

State Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, said the Insurance Department report provides only a rough estimate.

"It is as accurate as you can get under the circumstances," he said.

Thomason repeatedly has proposed tougher penalties against those who drive without liability insurance.

Thomason welcomes the new law. But he said, "Personally, I don't think it goes far enough."

The new law won't prevent motorists from canceling their insurance policies once they have registered their vehicles and then buying a new insurance policy before showing up at the license bureau the next year, he said.

A misdemeanor conviction can carry up to a $500 fine, Thomason said.

Still, judges aren't likely to impose stiff fines, he said.

"I don't think the court will treat it any differently than they do a speeding ticket," said Thomason.

It could be less expensive to pay the fine than insure a vehicle, Thomason said.

Thomason said insured motorists pay higher premiums because of uninsured motorists.

"Our premiums would go down if everybody was responsible," he said.

"Driving a car is not a right, it is a privilege," the veteran state lawmaker said.

Mike Right, vice president of public affairs for the American Automobile Association of Missouri in St. Louis, said the new law could help with the lingering liability problem.

But he said the Department of Revenue also needs to do a better job of enforcing existing state law.

Relatively few motorists who couldn't show proof of insurance to a law enforcement officer during routine traffic stops have had their licenses suspended by the Department of Revenue.

In fiscal 1996, law enforcement officers issued 66,556 no-proof-of-insurance notices to the Department of Revenue.

But the department mailed notices to only 17,101 of those motorists, demanding that they show proof of insurance.

Of those, 7,619 were found to have been driving without insurance and their licenses were suspended.

In fiscal 1997, which ended June 30, officers issued 55,043 no-proof-of-insurance notices.

The Revenue Department mailed notices to 24,946 of those motorists, demanding that they show proof of insurance.

Of those, 13,566 were found to have been driving without insurance and their licenses were suspended.

The Revenue Department doesn't have the manpower or funding to follow up on all the notices, said Kay Dinolfo, the agency's spokeswoman.

Instead, the department samples a percentage of the no-proof-of-insurance notices that are sent in each month, she said.

In fiscal 1996, the agency checked 26 percent of the notices. Last fiscal year, the department checked 45 percent.

Right said the state could do a better job of enforcement if it wanted to do so.

"If it is the will of the people to do something about it, you can always find the money," he said.