Grace period for uninsured Oklahoma vehicles ending soon

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — According to a state study, Oklahoma is ranked as one of the worst states for uninsured drivers, with one in every four drivers not having coverage.

State officials are cracking down and giving people a little more time to get compliant.

The program uses cameras to identify drivers without insurance and sent them notices. Uninsured drivers have until the end of the month to get the minimum coverage without a penalty, but after that, those notices will include fines.

"There were 315,000 people on that list, there are 181,000 now," said Amanda Arnall Couch, Director of Oklahoma Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion (UVED) Program. "It's a 40% reduction and it's huge for us."

That's the result of five years at work for the Oklahoma UVED Program—helping cut down a statistic that ranked Oklahoma one of the worst in the country.

"In 2015, there is an interim study nationwide that indicated Oklahoma or maybe Florida had the worst uninsured rate in the country," Couch said.

The program was designed to identify and notify uninsured Oklahoma drivers without causing foot traffic for police or the courts.

"This is something we have to address," Couch said. "There are states on the Eastern seaboard that have under 5%, 3%, 4%, and that is absolutely my goal."

With the help of Rekor Systems, the state was able to put in AI technology that can read tags of vehicles and find out if they are insured or not.

"Our technology is able to grab a picture and actually a video clip of that car in that plate," said Mike Dunbar, Executive Vice President of Rekor Systems. "It bounces that plate against the list the state provides right there on the device and then alerts the appropriate back end mechanism that, hey, 'Mr. Smith' is driving without insurance."

If a car is captured without insurance, the driver will get a notice in the mail telling them they need to get coverage. During the grace period, drivers won't be fined, but once that ends at the end of the month, they could face steep penalties.

"For being uninsured, for not complying with the Oklahoma law is $250," Couch said. "It is often a misdemeanor, so you could be looking at some some jail time. You could have your car impounded, your license removed, like the tag itself removed or your license driving license suspended."

Driving without insurance is illegal so if police pull you over, you will face consequences. You can learn more about the program and how to get your vehicle insured here.