One in 20 `uninsured' violations are mistaken
Nearly 5 percent of vehicles identified as uninsured in Oklahoma were flagged by mistake, according to the prosecutor in charge of a new program that includes automatic license plate readers.
At least 663 people were sent warning letters by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council but were able to prove they had insurance. Prosecutor Amanda Arnall Couch, who leads the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion (UVED) program, said some false positives happen when a driver has insurance from an out-of-state carrier or commercial insurance, which isn't required to be added to the database.
But most inaccuracies were triggered because owners didn't properly register their license plate after buying the car, she said.
“It's turning out to be a gigantic problem for us here,” said Arnall Couch, who sifts through thousands of photos each month alongside three retired law enforcement officers.
That part of her job might get easier over the next year. Starting July 1, someone selling a car will keep the license plate instead of handing it over to the buyer. Arnall Couch said the change could significantly decrease number of the false positives triggered by the system.
In Oklahoma, current law requires the license plate to stay with the car if it's sold.
“Which causes a huge problem when the next person doesn't go to the Tax Commission and say, `Hey, this is my car now,'” she said.
For the past five months, UVED staff have driven around the state in vehicles mounted with a camera. It automatically takes photos of license plates, then each image goes through a verification process to ensure it's legible and actually on the road instead of being parked or on a tow truck. Arnall Couch then decides whether to send a letter to the car's owner; so far, she's sent about 14,000 since the program began.
It's not a citation or a ticket. Receiving a letter won't put someone into the court system. Instead, it's a diversion program with the District Attorneys Council. Violators can pay the council $174 to avoid further trouble with prosecutors, as long as they also buy insurance.
“I, personally, am being incredibly careful to address every issue that comes in,” Arnall Couch said. “I have not sent a single case to the district attorney yet.”
In the future, Arnall hopes the program can use fixed cameras in Oklahoma City and Tulsa Counties to free up the mobile fleet to visit more rural parts of the state.
“We want everyone in this state to benefit from having fewer uninsured drivers on the road,” she said.