OAI: Louisiana Towing Proposal Highlights Auto Insurance's Importance

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, May 25, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A Louisiana proposal to tow cars of drivers lacking required coverage recently received full approval from the state Legislature, emphasizing the need for drivers in the state to have a proper policy in place or face possibly harsher penalties, according to Online Auto Insurance.

The legislation, called HB 1053, would permit officers to tow the cars of motorists they find driving without coverage on the first offense, a harsher penalty that repeals current law allowing authorities to tow a car only on second and subsequent offenses. It was passed by the state Senate with a 28-3 vote on May 24. The bill received a favorable report from the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highway and Public Works on May 17.

With stiffer enforcement looming over the law requiring financial responsibility, drivers without a proper policy in place should run auto insurance comparisons to get covered as soon as possible.

Legislative backers and law enforcement officials attended the committee hearing to offer their support for the bill. Rep. Ray Garafalo (R-Meraux), who is sponsoring the bill, said it would "put the teeth back" into the compulsory coverage requirement that officers sometimes have trouble enforcing under current law.

Garafalo said officers in the state don't have a way to track the number of times they have flagged a car for lacking proper coverage, so his proposal would give them more latitude in determining which violators to tow.

Louisiana State Police Lt. Jason Starnes offered the agency's support for the bill at the Senate committee hearing.

The bill would preserve a current part of the law that allows officers to forgo towing vehicles containing elderly passengers or children under 13 years old.

House Representatives passed HB 1053 by an 82-7 vote on April 25. After its most recent Senate approval, the bill was returned to the state House, where it currently sits.

Source: http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=792201

During the April debate in the state House, Garafalo told fellow lawmakers that his proposal would "bring up the rate of insured drivers for us and bring down insurance costs."

Louisiana is currently ranked as the third most expensive state for auto coverage, according to 2009 average expenditure data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

New Orleans ranks as the third most expensive city in the U.S. for auto coverage, according to a 2011 analysis by Runzheimer International.

Garafalo cited statistics from the State Police that found that, since July 2011, 17,030 tickets were issued to motorists who failed to provide proof of coverage and 16,321 of those were ultimately found to be uninsured.

"We need to do something to make sure that drivers obey the law," said Garafalo, who added that other legislation legalizing electronic means of proving a driver has a policy will ensure that properly covered motorists aren't inadvertently victimized by his proposal.

That legislation, HB 1130, is also nearing full approval by the state Legislature after getting heavy support from both the state House and Senate, the latter of which passed the bill by a 39-0 vote on May 16.

For more on this and insurance-related issues, head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/compare/ for access to an easy-to-use quote-comparison generator and informative resource pages.

Website: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com

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