More cities considered for Oklahoma’s insurance verification system

A new report by Oklahoma Watch says more than 13,000 drivers have bought insurance after being caught by cameras used in the state’s insurance verification system.

The Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion program, launched in December 2018,  uses fixed and mobile cameras to capture license plate information. Five cameras are in the Tulsa area; six more are expected to go online soon in Oklahoma City and Edmond, said Amanda Arnall Couch, the program’s director.

“We are scouting additional camera locations in Lawton, Ardmore, Muskogee, Stillwater and Enid,” Arnall Couch emailed Monday. “The UVED trailer is currently deployed in Weatherford.”

Arnall said the overall number of drivers found to lack insurance is lower than expected. Some unforeseen data issues with the state’s commercial insurance system and verifying cars insured out-of-state likely contributed to the lower totals. Commercial license plates aren’t covered under the program.

But Oklahoma’s new tag law, which requires drivers to keep their license plates when they buy a new vehicle, should help cut down on the number of “false positives” in the verification program. The citation fee is $174. Before the program began, officials estimated nearly 600,000 drivers lacked car insurance.

Source: Oklahoma Watch