I need some help PLEASE

[jenayz]

Hello, my name is Jennifer and I live in Virginia. This past weekend the family and I took a trip to Ocean City MD for the day. As we were leaving to come back home we were in a car accident. the accident happened at a red light where my mom was stopped and was hit from behind by a driver that was not paying attention. The other driver was as fault and her insurance is paying for damages. The huge problem is that the state trooper that arrived at the scene was very upset that my mom didn't have car insurance. We told him that it is legal to drive in Virginia without insurance. Needless to say he didn't believe us. We were very respectful and did not argue even though we knew what we were talking about. My mom recieved a ticket and now has to go to court. Apparently in Maryland and most other states this is a very serious offense, she could be facing jail time and $1,000 fine. My question is.....how is that legal for a Maryland state trooper to ticket a Virginia driver whom was driving a vehicle registered in Virginia for something that is perfectly legal in Virginia?

[Citicop]

jenayz-

When you drive in any state, you are required to follow that state's laws while you are there.

If the highway speed limit in VA is 70 MPH, and you drive 70 in MD where the speed limit is only 50 MPH, you can get a ticket for speeding, even if it would have been legal in your home state. The same goes for making a right turn on a red light or driving without insurance.

Your mom may get some lenience out of the judge if she explains, but she was in violation of the law in Maryland. The trooper can only enforce the laws passed in his state. Having different rules based on where e driver is from would be chaos.

-Citicop

[mcsap]

Motorcycle helmet laws are another example of laws that vary from state to state. How about this...VA is the only state that it is illegal for ANYONE to have a radar detector in their car !!

Any non-commercial vehicle can have them in every other state but NOT in VA !

[jenayz]

Thank you for your responses.

[jenayz]

Thank you. I understand completely what you are saying but I am having a hard time understanding how it is possible for any person who travels through different states during a vacation to have to change insurance policies for every state they may have to travel through. Many states have different requirements for insurance. I do see your point and I guess it is what it is. Tough lesson learned, I guess I know now before I cross any state border that I should check their insurance requirements.

And let me please add that the ticket was "knowingly driving an uninsured vehicle". Yes she knew it was uninsured but had no idea it was illegal in Maryland just as the Maryland state trooper had no idea it was legal in Virginia.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

FYI, although paying the "Uninsured Motorist Fee" does allow you to operate a vehicle in Va without insurance, it is a fundamentally bad thing to do. It puts you PERSONALLY on the hook for any at fault accident, including the other party's medical bills ($ tens of thousands up to $ hundreds of thousands of dollars), not to mention vehicle damage repair costs.

The Uninsured Motorist Fee is really designed for show vehicles, non-functioning cars, or other vehicles not intended to be driven on the roadways. Paying the fee just so you don't have to pony up for insurance is exploiting a loophole in the law, and is basically playing Russian roulette with your car.

[jenayz]

I am insured always have been. My mother's insurance lapsed. I agree people should be insured also, I'm in no way trying to argue about that.

[DeltaV]

Some states exempt out of state vehicles from certain parts of the traffic code. For example, Florida only issues a rear license plate. If I drive my car to a state that requires two plates, I don't have to abide by that law because my state doesn't issue two plates. I still have to abide by other laws such as speed limits and follow their traffic control devices.

Florida has two specific statutes about vehicle insurance. One outlines what insurance is required for vehicles registered in the state. The other is a generic requirement for parties in a crash to provide proof of insurance. It doesn't matter what the specifics of that insurance are if the vehicle isn't registered in Florida, but vehicles operating in the state must be insured. I'm sure it's the same in New Jersey.

I didn't know that there were states out there that still didn't require vehicle insurance.