Before you send in the $100 fine for failing to show proof of insurance or other proof of financial responsibility when stopped by a police officer, think again. Although the tickets do not explain nor disclose this, under the Financial Responsibility Law in Tennessee, the Department of Safety must suspend the drivers license of anyone who pays the fine or is convicted of not showing proof of insurance when stopped. Conviction for violating this statute is a $100 fine and is classified as a Class C misdemeanor. The clerk’s office does not reveal this on the tickets. The first notice you would receive is the suspension order from the Department of Safety. To reinstate your license you would then have to pay a $65 reinstatement fee and retake the drivers license exam. The better practice is to appear in court and present proof of insurance if you did not have it in your car when you were stopped by the officer. Otherwise, you will spend at least a day trying to remedy the situation. I know this from first hand experience. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.