Don't Drive Without Insurance

An estimated two million uninsured motorists on Illinois roads have until Jan. 1,1990, to obtain liability insurance or face expensive fines and a license plate suspension. The Illinois mandatory insurance law requires that all vehicle owners carry liability insurance that covers property damage or injuries they cause to others in an accident.

Motorists will be in compliance with the new law if they have vehicle liability insurance in the following amounts:

• $20,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident

• $40,000 for injury or death of more than one person in an accident

• $15,000 for damage to property of another person

Under the new law, motorists will be required to carry in their vehicle an insurance card provided by their insurance company. Any motorist who is stopped for a traffic violation or involved in an accident will be expected to show the card as proof of insurance. The Secretary of State's office will also enforce the new law by conducting a random survey of motorists, requiring them to provide insurance information that will be verified with their insurance company.

The penalty for failing to obtain liability insurance by the deadline is a $500 fine and a two-month license plate suspension. There are more severe penalties for driving a suspended vehicle or for providing fraudulent insurance information.

Mandatory insurance is the law in Illinois. Don't drive without insurance. •

Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / December 1989