Let’s Find Out What Happens If You Drive Without An Insurance

If you are a driver in the United States of America, you have to have car insurance for your vehicle. Believe it or not, it is the law (Unless you are from New Hampshire, where you just need to have proof that you can afford to pay for damages you cause). But, what actually happens if you decide to drive without insurance?

According to the Association For Safe International Road Travel, almost 40,000 people die in car accidents annually in the United States, and 2.3 million people are injured or even disabled. With the fact that an average crash costs the country about $100,000, you can understand why it is mandatory to be insured. If everyone who causes a car crash is insured, the state suffers next to no damage from the crashes and everything can go on working perfectly. With that in mind, if you choose to drive without insurance, you will face consequences. Most likely one or more of these four:

 You will get a fine

If you get pulled over for any reason (like speeding, running a red light, forgetting to turn on your headlights or any other reason that you can think of) and you do not have insurance, you will get a ticket. While, of course, you will have to pay for whatever you did to get yourself pulled over, you will also be fined for not having insurance and still driving your car. In some states, the penalties for this is up to two thousand dollars! But, of course, this is not the only thing that happens to you.

 You can lose your driver’s license

If you cannot prove that you have insurance, your license will probably be suspended, and this suspension can last for a while. In California, if you didn’t have insurance when you got into a car crash, you can lose your license for up to four years. It does not matter if it was your fault or not.  However, after a year, you will have a chance to get it back if you take out car insurance.

You will, of course, have to provide proof to the motor vehicle department and pay a fee to have your license reinstated. Not to mention that you will have to file a form (SR-22) that is used to show that you are financially responsible. When you need to take out insurance after getting caught in a car crash without one, it will cost a lot more. Repeat offenders can lose their license permanently.

 Your vehicle might be impounded

If a police officer catches you on the road without insurance, he/she could choose to try to prevent you from driving by impounding your car. You do not even have to be in a crash for that. If they stop you for whatever reason (even forgetting to use the turn signal), your vehicle might get towed. Paying the fee will not be enough to take it out.

You will, once more, have to provide proof of insurance to get your car back. Not to mention that the impound fees might rack up as you sort everything out. In New York City, for example, your car just might be sold after no more than ten days. Of course, whether a police officer chooses to impound your car is at his discretion, but remember that all of this can happen if you simply forget to bring your insurance card with you, even if you are insured. If it turns out you have insurance, you can just bring proof of insurance to the court and avoid paying the ticket altogether.

 There is a chance that you will have to pay for the damages from your own pocket

If you get in a car crash without auto insurance, and the crash was your fault, you are the one financially responsible for the other driver’s damages. You will have to pay for his repairs and any medical expenses. This is regardless of whether the other driver had uninsured motorist coverage and was compensated by the insurance company. If you do not pay, you might get sued and have to pay the damages as well as the court and lawyer fees incurred by the lawsuit.