MyFoxDFW

Recently I witnessed an auto accident. A motorist was traveling though an intersection with a green light at about 40mph- the posted speed. On the cross street, a motorist pulled out from behind a large, tall 4WD pickup to enter the street and make a right turn on red. Unfortunately, since the driver could not see past the truck, she ran right into the side of the car crossing the intersection. The elderly people who had the right-of-way were injured, and I expect their older model car was totaled.

I stopped to render assistance, and provide my name as a witness as something about the other driver and her car led me to believe there would be trouble. Soon, the police arrived, and I left after giving my contact info. I was contacted the next day, and told the teen driver of the vehicle at fault had no license or insurance, and I recall her older car had a dealer tag too.

I expect Medicare or Medicaid will be picking up the bill, as the older couple only had liability insurance. That means you and I pay for it through federal taxes.

Also, a good friends wife was recently hit in the rear in a school zone. She had stopped for kids in the crosswalk, when a pickup plowed into her at over 35mph. The driver of the pickup had state mandated $15,000 liability. My friend’s nearly new car was totaled, at a replacement cost of over $19,000. Their insurance has to pick up the difference, plus medical, rent car etc. since the $15,000 is not even close to paying for the car alone.

It also seems that only 50% to 60% of drivers in Texas have state mandated liability insurance, and most only carry the minimum of $15,000, which wont pay for much. That leaves those who have a few extra dollars and a fairly nice car to have to carry uninsured motorist and personal injury protection, often at a high cost.

So...

I had an idea once to add a few cents tax onto a gallon of gas here in Texas to cover "uninsured motorist" cost. The state could funnel the money to a few insurance companies to manage the insurance. Each driver without mandatory liability insurance would then have a minimum of $15,000 provided through the state fund for uninsured motorist.

If you or I wanted to have additional liability insurance, we could still get that through our insurance provider, and all our auto insurance would be a lower cost because there would be NO uninsured motorist in Texas.

Furthermore, in the event of an accident with an uninsured motorist, the party without insurance should have their vehicle auctioned to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to the "victim" first to cover their additional cost over $15,000 (if any) and the remainder going to the state to help fund the program.

This would help greatly with the illegal alien problem of no insurance, and the low income folks who simply let their $49 policies lapse after renewing their license or registration or inspection, and it also help Texans insurance rates as travelers through the state would be assisting with the cost of the fund when they buy gas.

Asleep at the Wheel

Auto Insurance

TexasGuyDFW

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