If you’ve ever been in a car crash — from minor fender bump to big-time collision — you know once the sirens fade from the air and everyone is okay, the real headache is insurance: who’s got it, who doesn’t. According to a new shakedown of available car crash data, Ohioans are more likely be driving without the appropriate coverage.
That means law-abiding Citizen Joes and Janes are more likely to get screwed with the bill.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that uninsured folks were responsible for 8,700 auto bang-ups in 2010, the latest crunch-able data around. Statistically, that breaks down to the uninsured responsible for three out of four of the crashes they’re in.
Although that’s a pretty startling figure, the paper reports crashes involving the uninsured are actually dropping. But the flip side is that the number of people caught without the right law-mandated paperwork has increased.
This article appears in Oct 3-9, 2012.
Well, car insurance is expensive. When you’re struggling so hard and have to make a decision between paying the car insurance or eating – you’re going to chose your stomach. Obviously, you still have to drive to work to earn those measely pay checks, so you’re still going to drive. So to me, it’s clearly obvious that the more people struggle, the less people that maintain auto insurance. You can’t pay for something that you don’t have the money for! Sure, there are buses and public transportation, but we are not all lucky enough to live on bus routes.
Nicole: Stop making excuses for people. Does anyone really believe all these people are going uninsured to keep from starving? No, what’s going on is people view car insurance as one of their expenses they can get away with not paying. So, they’d rather cut that than, say, give up their cable TV, their IPhone, or whatever else is on the long list of things they’re blowing their money on instead. As a consequence, the rest of us have to pay higher premiums to subsidize these jerks. No one likes paying insurance premiums, but some people choose to be selfish and irresponsible and do not care that they are causing the rest of us to pay more. And if you truly can’t find any way to afford car insurance then you can’t afford to drive a car.
Just remember that many of the people who DO pay for insurance are struggling too, and they work hard and make sacrifices to pay those bills, and you are causing them to struggle more when you decide to blow it off.
Ohio obviously needs to beef up its enforcement.
Gee, what a surprise… Here’s a few prime examples… Just last week I got the “guess what happened to us today” call from my parents, who both suffered disabling back injuries in a car accident 25 years ago. They were on the way to a doctor appt., and the highway was backed up (because of an accident!) so my Mom, the driver, exited to take side streets and avoid the traffic. A man decided to pull out in front of my parents, and a school bus, in the rain no less. My Mom was driving, and swerved to try to avoid a crash, but slammed into the other man’s SUV with her 1993 Honda, which WAS in near perfect condition. The other driver showed concern about injuries, but I’m guessing that’s because he gave her a FAKE INSURANCE CARD. Thankfully, full coverage for an old Honda and a clean driving record is CHEAP, even for a couple living on social security disability! In the meantime, my parents now have to scrape together $250 for the deductible to cover the $1200 in damage to the car. The guy who hit them was dressed in a suit and tie, driving a 2010 SUV, versus a 93 Honda.
And how about this… I myself have been out of work for a year, and my car has also not been running for several months. I STILL PAY for my full coverage insurance! I manage to pay the $35/month. Why? Because I should. If my garage collapses and totals my car, or a drunk drives through my yard and into my garage, it’s covered. It’s just that simple. There is beyond affordable insurance out there. People just don’t give a flying %^&$!!!
So Miss Nicole… HOW IN THE WORLD IS THAT FAIR? OR RIGHT? AT ALL? Guess what?… It’s not! It’s people like you, that drag others down, and cause decent people to have problems. That car accident 25 years ago that disabled BOTH of my parents… it also took their home based business away, took all their savings and my college fund, and we lost our house. A one second mistake turned three lives upside down, never to be righted. All because the accident was caused by someone without insurance.
Either park your car, or pay for insurance. MOST of us decent people do.
So based on her one post detailing the very real struggles of poverty we’ve determined that she must drive uninsured and may or may not be the Anti-Christ…oh Cleveland
If you get caught driving without insurance, you should have to pay a fine equal to the amount you would have paid to be insured all this time. This fine will go into a fund that will help insured motorists pay for damage to their cars caused by uninsured drivers.