Stuck in the 50's, Maine's Proof of Insurance Requirement
Stuck in the 50's, Maine's Proof of Insurance Requirement
Sat, 06/23/2012 - 11:11am
Posted by mirgliP
As I have documented before, I own five cars, a motorcyle and a boat and two trailers. This entitles me to many trips to the town office (the fact that they won't let me do it by mail or online could be the subject of another rant), to register the fleet. One of the things required to do so for the motor vehicles is a document proving I carry the minimum liability insurance required by Maine law. This document is a flimsy piece of white paper, generated by a standard laser or inkjet printer with no security features. It would take about two minutes to forge by anyone with access to a computer and free software available on the internet. There are even companies advertising on TV that will sell you liability insurance by the week with "Instant proof of insurance!". In short, the "proof of insurance" document we are required to carry in our vehicle is proof of nothing at all.
Why, in the 21st century, do we force people to chase around with little slips of paper to make sure we have one in our vehicle under penalty of law, when a central database that is accessible by the town offices and law enforcement could be implemented that would actually be secure and provide real assurance that a person is meeting the requirements of the mandatory insurance law? What does our state legislature do all session?