Driving without insurance

Being accused of driving without insurance is a serious situation, as pleading guilty will automatically mean losing your license for a year. Handing a police officer an expired insurance card can be even worse, though: this is a misdemeanor offense that could lead up 30 days in jail on the first offense.

New York law is written to make it clear that having insurance is not negotiable. The fines for being caught without it can be set as high as $1,000 by a judge, and since revocation of license and registraion is automatic, there’s an additional $750 that must be paid to the DMV before any reinstatement.

When it comes to someone provided an invalid insurance card (either expired, or for a policy that was never paid up, for example), an officer has discretion and may not cite the driver. When they do, judges can set a fine of up to $300 on top of jail time up to 30 days, when one of these tickets comes before them. The penalties rise quickly if it’s a repeat offense: the third time allows for a fine as high as $1,125 and six months in jail. Beyond what can happen in traffic court, driving without insurance can result in higher premiums down the road, or open you up to a civil lawsuit in the case of a crash.

Contact Selby Legal if you are accused of not having insurance while driving.