Judges in Kentucky’s Jefferson County have stopped a program giving drivers without insurance a way to avoid a hefty fine because court officials say it nearly impossible to monitor the growing number of participants.
The Insurance Diversion Program ended in May after the 17 Jefferson District Court judges determined it wasn’t being managed properly and was largely unsuccessful.
Chief District Judge Sean Delahanty told The Courier-Journal that the court system lacks the manpower, technology and resources to handle the program.
“We are dealing with people who are living on the margins,” Delahanty said. “They make choices of how to spend their meager funds every day and the (financial penalty) is going to make it more difficult for them to buy insurance, so the penalty will make it more difficult for them to comply with the law.”
The 7,000 current participants will be the last unless the judges and state Administrative Office of the Courts officials figure out a way to run it effectively.
Under the program, participants who were referred by prosecutors would plead guilty and show proof of insurance. Then court workers would call the participants’ insurance companies every month to ensure they kept the insurance policies hadn’t been canceled. At the end of the two years, the charge was dismissed and could be taken off their record.
People convicted of driving without insurance now will have to pay a $1,000 fine, plus $135 in court costs. A 30-day jail sentence and another $750 fine will be avoided, as long as they aren’t caught driving without insurance again for two years.
Judges said the program, when successful, was helpful not only for those charged with driving without insurance but also for all drivers who run the risk of being hit by an uninsured motorist.
A 2011 nationwide study by the Insurance Research Council estimated one in seven motorists is driving without insurance.
Administrative Office of the Courts officials came to the judges in recent years to tell them they weren’t able to properly monitor those in the program. Last year, the judges discussed the problems and decided to allow participants to remain on diversion for one year instead of two, hoping that would ease the workload.
Three District Court judges and Administrative Office of the Courts officials will meet later this month to continue discussing whether the program can be saved.
Delahanty, other judges and Administrative Office of the Courts officials all said the program has been unmanageable for some time, with not enough court workers available to make the monthly calls to insurance companies to verify participants had insurance.
Delahanty also said some insurance companies were not cooperative with the courts, refusing to provide information about whether a client had insurance, even though the participant had agreed to allow the company to notify the court.
“It’s difficult to hold them accountable if you can’t verify they are compliant,” Delahanty said.
District Judge Jennifer Wilcox said the computer program used for the diversion efforts was designed for under 1,000 participants.
“There is human error and defendants have fallen through the cracks, but we have been (keeping up) as best we can,” said Ginny Lee, urban program supervisor for Jefferson County pre-trial services, which runs the program.
Topics Personal Auto Kentucky
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