Caught Driving Without Auto Insurance

In Chicago, running a red light might get you a letter, complete with a $100 fine, thanks to a red-light camera. But that might not be the end of your photo-enforcement mess, because city officials began talking about using the city's ever-growing network of red-light cameras to check for vehicle liability insurance or uninsured motorists.

The city could potentially net nearly $10 million a year in fines just by citing uninsured vehicles that also get photo ticketed for a red-light violation. Ed Burke brought the idea to the City Council Traffic Committee. Citing more vehicles—including those driven safely but uninsured—could net the city more than $100 million a year, added Rowland Day, executive vice president of InsureNet, a Michigan-based company that provides instant insurance verification. Day pitched the idea as a way to raise money in tough economic times and make sure more vehicles are insured. Insurenet is still a relatively new company and has yet to prove the concept on any level. Although no state or municipality uses photo-enforcement to ticket the uninsured drivers, Insurenet claims to have three or four states signed in the Spring of 2009.

Most state fines for driving without insurance are currently $500, but the cities could pass local ordinances requiring insurance to keep fine collections, and would probably enact a lesser fine. Chicagotribune.com