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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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The bills are mounting. You’ve been without work and starting a new job today. You can’t afford the insurance on your car, but promise yourself to get some with your first or second paycheck.
On the way to your first day at work, you get pulled over by a cop because you ran a stop sign you didn’t see. She already knows your car doesn’t have insurance just by running the plate through the DMV database she can access on her computer. You tell her your story. It’s not that she doesn’t care; she has got to protect the rest of us from uninsured drivers. She gives you a citation.
You must now find another way to get to your new job. When you arrive late, you explain what happened to your new boss. Hopefully, she’s understanding and doesn’t fire you before you get started.
Meanwhile, the tow truck parks your car in an impound lot.
On your lunch break, you call the police department to find out where your car is stored. They tell you to come to the station with proof of insurance, pay the release fee, which varies between $50 and $250 depending on the city in Oregon where you got stopped. You know you can’t afford that. You beg them to at least tell you which tow company it is. You get lucky that they tell you, but they remind you that the tow company can’t let you take the car without insurance and a release certificate.
After hanging up, you hitch a ride from a co-worker you just met to drop you off at the tow yard. They are closed. You take the bus home.
The next day you take the bus to work. On your first break, you call the tow company and ask how to get your car out of impound. They tell you the same thing the cops told you. You ask for your options since you can’t afford to buy the insurance, pay the release certificate, and pay their whopping $500 tow and storage fees. The nice man tells you to bring in the title and sign it over. They will sell your car at auction to cover the expenses. If there is any money left over, they’ll give it to you. If you still owe them money, they’ll bill or sue you, depending on how long it takes up storage space. You get angry, hang up, and ignore the situation.
After two months of taking the bus to work, you finally have enough money to buy another car. About the same time, you get a letter in the mail from the Oregon DMV that you have 30 days to obtain an SR22. You call around for auto insurance quotes for your new car and ask for an SR22. The price is $150 a month for liability insurance with SR22. That’s more than you have after buying the car. You ride the bus for the next two weeks, leaving your new car parked at home. Smart move. With the next paycheck, you buy the insurance, and the agent faxes the SR22 just in time to avoid suspension of your driver’s license.
Now you are back on track—driving to work, with insurance, in your new car. When you get home one day, you find a letter in your mailbox from the tow company that they have taken you to court and won a judgment against you for $2600. What? Why? You call the tow company. They tell you that you should have brought in the title, and the amount would have been a lot less. They had no choice but to file a lien on the vehicle and wait the required time for the release of ownership. Your car was taking up their space in their impound lot, for which they charge $50 a day. They didn’t get enough at auction to cover all their expenses and legal fees. $2600 was the cost after the sale. Now you are outraged and hang up.
A month later, you notice your paycheck is short. You talk to someone in human resources. They tell you that your wages would be garnished for the $2600 plus interest and fees for the next three months until the debt is satisfied.
In other words, don’t drive a car uninsured unless you have about $1,000 to get it out of impound.
Oops, you left out one thing. You had to go to court to make arrangements to pay the $390 in fines for driving uninsured and running the stop sign.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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1. Auto Insurance. Most likely, your car got impounded because you had no insurance or drove with a suspended license. Depending on where you live in Oregon—prices vary by zip code—you can expect to pay between $100 to $250 a month depending on your driving record. Of course, you are in a rush to get the proof of insurance, so you must work with an agent who can provide you with documents instantly. Why the rush? Every day that ticks by, the tow company charges you for storage fees as much as $50 a day. Ask your agent to include SR22. You may not need it now, but you will after the Oregon DMV gets wind of your driving without insurance ticket.
2. Release Certificate. Typically, you pick up the release certificate from the police station closest to where your car was impounded. The officer should tell you at the time of the stop where to pay for the certificate. Be sure to take with you proof of insurance. The driver who will be retrieving the impounded automobile must have a valid license. If yours is suspended, and you’ll be the driver picking it up, you’ll need to do what the DMV requires to reinstate your license or find someone who has an active, valid license. The cost of the release certificate varies from $50 to $300, depending on which city officer stopped you.
3. Tow Bill. This immediate cost might be your biggest. I’ve heard tow companies charge between $200 and $500 or more to tow your car. Much of the expense depends on where you were stopped, the vehicle, and how far to their tow lot.
4. Storage Fees. The towing company must maintain a secured tow yard to keep your car safe from theft, vandalism, and looting. No, you don’t get to empty your car when you get stopped. You can take your personal effects out of the vehicle, and that’s it. So, there your automobile sits, with everything inside, taking up valuable space in their lot. They usually charge between $30 and $50 a day for storage fees. That’s why I said earlier, the faster you can get the insurance and release certificate, the lower the storage fees will be.
5. Ticket. Either you go to court to fight the ticket, or you simply pay the fine and move on. Going to court and pleading your case might at least get the fine reduced. A no insurance ticket usually costs between $150 and $250. Add that to other infractions, and you’ll leave the courthouse having paid as much as $1,000 in fines.
Now, if you had maintained insurance and good credit, your insurance would probably be around $50 to $70 a month. You can expect to pay double that because you had no prior insurance and will now have tickets on your record. Some companies charge even more because you’ll need an SR22 certificate. They charge you to send in the SR22 form to the DMV and an SR26 form if you cancel your policy. The $25 fee per certificate the DMV charges passes on to you.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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1. Driving without Insurance. A police officer could have your car towed, leaving you stranded if you drive uninsured. If you are a female or parent with small children, the cop may wait with you until other insured transportation arrives to take you home. You might get lucky, and he orders you to drive directly home, without being impounded. The officer will request that you bring to the court proof that you purchased insurance. Often, the cop will promise you the dismissal of your uninsured driving ticket. The decision to dismiss the ticket lies within the power of the judge, not the police officer.
If you are an adult male traveling alone or with other adults, you may be left standing on the street corner finding your way home. A tow truck will take your car away.
2. Uninsured Accident. At fault in an accident or not, if you crashed your car without insurance, it might get towed away, even if drivable. Not only will you receive a citation for driving uninsured, but the Oregon DMV will suspend your license for a year. You will be required to carry SR22 type insurance for three years. You may apply for a Hardship Permit during that three-year suspension. If the car you were driving belongs to someone else, the owner may receive a letter in the mail from the DMV requiring them to carry SR22 for three years. I’ve even seen a police officer show up at the residence of the uninsured car’s owner and issue a citation for permitting the use of an uninsured vehicle and suspend their license as well. This extended action all depends on the severity of the crash, the mood of the officer, and the rules and laws of the jurisdiction.
3. Driving while Suspended. If a cop catches you driving with your license suspended, the officer may order the vehicle to be impounded and towed. Sometimes they will wait until someone with a driver’s license shows up at the scene and can prove the car has insurance. If the suspended driver has other outstanding warrants or unpaid fines, the police officer might not be inclined to wait and order the vehicle towed.
Of course, if used in some criminal activity, your vehicle will be impounded and held as evidence in the police impound lot until the crime has been adjudicated.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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1. No Insurance. When the DMV finds out you were convicted of driving uninsured, you will receive, at your last known address, a letter stating you have 30 days to comply with the SR22 requirement. Failure to do so will suspend your license for three years. After that period, you can pay the reinstatement fee to get your license back. You can obtain insurance, submit an SR22 certificate, and avoid suspension. Waiting until after your license gets suspended, you would have to turn in the form and pay the fee.
2. Failure to Pay a Fine. Putting off paying a fine or failing to meet the payment arrangements can cause your license to be suspended.
3. Failure to Pay Child Support. If your child support goes into arrears and reaches a certain amount, the DMV can suspend not just your driver’s license but other professional licenses you may hold in the State of Oregon. You have options if you fall behind. Make arrangements with a representative in the child support division to make minimum payments and something extra toward paying off the arrearage to avoid suspension.
Other things can cause you suspension, like a serious infraction such as driving while impaired (DWI). The suspension period varies depending on how the judge reacts and whether you can participate in the diversion program. You can also be suspended for a short period if you get more than, say, three tickets in a short time. Four or more infractions close together will automatically win you a one-year suspension.
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Most auto insurance companies won’t insure a driver without a valid Oregon license, but a few will. Oregon law says you have 30 days to obtain a license in this State from when you move here. The DMV and police encountered difficulty enforcing that requirement during the year 2020 as the branches were closed for much of the year. Then, when they reopened, setting an appointment to get a license proved challenging. Until this year, only documented citizens and residents could secure an Oregon driver’s license. The rules changed, and anyone, documented or not, who can prove they live in the State, may now apply for a driver’s license. That jammed up the appointment queue.
Regardless of the reason for not having an Oregon license, we represent companies that will insure you. Once you obtain one, we’ll be happy to requote you.