Originally Posted by yourmama

It also takes a lot more demonstrated driving skill to get your driver's license in most European countries. Taxation on new cars and high fuel prices mean that fewer people drive cars and for shorter distances when they do. Together, this means there are a lot fewer incompetent snot-nosed young drivers on the road.

Now, you think you can save $4,000 per year by driving without insurance? Why are you having to pay $9,000 in the first place, unless you already have a ****-poor driving record?

The fine for driving without insurance starts at $5,000 to $25,000 for a first offence plus up to one year license suspension. If you get caught trying to use a phony insurance slip, add an extra $10,000 to $50,000 for a first offence on that too. On top of that the JP can order your car impounded for up to three months on conviction for driving without insurance, and after that three months you also have to pay for all the towing and storage costs before you get the car back.

Mind you, once you get the car back you probably won't be able to afford to drive it. You'll be forced onto Facility insurance and their very high rates, and on top of those high rates you'll be looking at minimum 100% insurance surcharges for the next 5 to 7 years.

If you instead choose to again drive without insurance, you then face driver's license suspension again, three-month vehicle impoundment as a certainty, $10,000 to $50,000 fines for doing so, and an additional $20,000 to $100,000 for producing a phony insurance slip if you do that. And, having already been convicted for it before, you can bet that your name and cars will be on a hot list with your local police dept, which means that this time they'll be looking out for you and can catch you even faster.

If you get caught as a result of an accident, the insurance companies behind the car or cars or people you hit will come after your personally for all damage and medical, loss of ncome and therapy payouts. The uninsured drunk who ran into me last year is facing all of those fines, vehicle impoundment, paying to replace her own totalled vehicle, PLUS lawsuits from my insurance company and the insurance company of the other car she hit in her rampage. My insurance company wants back the money they spent fixing my damaged truck, and the other insurance company wants back the money they paid for a written off third car plus the medical and loss of income payouts on the person she injured.

If she ever drives again, she'll pay thousands a year in insurance surcharges on top of all that. Her decision to drive without insurance will cost her well over $100,000 and maybe as high as $200,000 out of her own pocket by the time the overall tally is added up, and she was lucky in that she inflicted only very minor injuries on the other driver beside me that she hit. Had someone died....

And you plan on potentially putting yourself in the same place to save $4,000? Sure, good one.

Originally Posted by powered_by_a_rabbit

Well if u have a better plan or way i will be able to drive then im taking anyones opinion... and i have a perfectly clean record, no speeding tickets nothing .. not even parking even tho thos dont matter.

Originally Posted by yourmama

I have a hard timing believing that anyone with a clean drivin record, even a person who just got their license yesterday, would be paying $9,000 a year of an ordinary car. I know people with impaired driving on their records paying half that.

The only possible reason is that you're trying to insure an fairly powerful sports car, in which case the better plan is to drive a lower risk car for a couple of years while you build up experience and hopefully a positive driving and insurance record with a company.

But to drive without insurance in this economic and litigous climate is one of the most stupid things you can do, first because of the incredible economic risk you expose yourself to, and second, if you ever do get into an accident now we will most likely have a twice-stupid fool engaging in hit-and-run and high-speed flight rather than remain at the scene. And that compounds the risk several times over again.

The person who hit me is currently sitting in jail. When she gets out, she's looking to at least a decade or more of bus fare and kraft dinner, because she won't easily find insurance again at reasonable rates, and she's still on the hook for ALL of the damages arising from that accident, plus almost $8,000 in fines, plus ignition interlock and its costs.

But if you want to go that way, fine. Be stupid.

Originally Posted by ivperformance

was she drunk ? she would be sitting in jail with or without insurance.

second of all, please do a quote for a 17 year old with a clean record, then speak, i actually did a quote back when in the day, ud be suprised.

Originally Posted by Sham

It could have been a possible hit and run. She hit him and then took off because she knew she was ed because of no insurance.

Originally Posted by yourmama

That's what she did after she hit the first car. Then she hit me. Then she took off again, but after hitting me there wasn't much left of her car. It wasn't very hard to go after her badly damaged car, cut her off, and thus end her evening of fun and frolic.

No insurance. Big fine potential. Big incentive to run, which helped cause her second hit and run with me.

I don't carry a grudge. I did smile and wave at her as they took her away in cuffs in the back seat of the cruiser.

Originally Posted by Sham

I'm glad she didn't get away with it. Now the questions is:

Did you claim the damage and watch your premiums skyrocket or did you just pay for the damage yourself?

Originally Posted by yourmama

This is the second time I've claimed for hit and run in the last few years. The previous one was a drunk, also had no insurance, and he ended up spending 90 days in jail for that one.

No insurance increase for me. No surcharge. No change in my driver rating by the insurance company. In fact, my rates just went down, again.

Originally Posted by Sham

I'd consider myself pretty lucky if I were you (not when it comes to hit and runs though). A friend of mine got rear-ended on the highway, made a claim, and his insurance went up by about 30%. Prior to that, he had no claims, and his driving record is perfect. He got screwed. From a financial standpoint, it would have been cheaper for him to pay for the damage out of his own pocket, because now he is paying even more with the escalated premiums.