California Uninsured Drivers Rate Is Fifteen Percent

A story that caught the eye of our San Diego car accident attorney appeared in USA Today this week detailing the many drivers in the United States who do not have insurance for their vehicles. According to the article, although percentage rates vary from state to state, 1 out of every 7 drivers across the nation does not have insurance. The study, conducted by the Insurance Research Council, found that 15 percent of California drivers do not have insurance. The problem of uninsured motorists has likely been exacerbated as of late because of the high unemployment rates and difficult financial times with which the nation has been struggling for several years.

When there is a car crash caused by an uninsured motorist, the victims are often left without adequate recourse against the at-fault driver. Even if the other driver is clearly the one responsible for causing the accident and the injuries that resulted from it, the victims may never be able to recover because the simply does not have the financial resources to pay a judgment. In order to protect yourself against such a situation, there are two key things that you can do. The first thing you should do is make sure that your automobile insurance includes uninsured motorist coverage, which will help to pay your bills in the event that you are involved in a car accident caused by an uninsured driver. This type of coverage is a major contributing factor to the cost of car insurance.

The second thing you should do if you are the victim of a collision where the at-fault party does not have insurance in our area, is get in touch with our San Diego car accident lawyer as soon as possible. In some cases, the uninsured driver may have some assets that could be used to satisfy the judgment, but he or she may try to hide or dispose of those assets before they can be sold. A California personal injury attorney can help you to discover what assets the other driver has and how to keep them available to pay a judgment against him or her.

Without taking these two steps, you run a very great risk of having no legal recourse against the person responsible for your injuries in a car accident. In addition, if you are currently driving a vehicle without insurance, it is essential that you discontinue doing so until you are able to get insurance. If you are involved in a crash, you could wind up having to pay out-of-pocket for medical expenses incurred by the parties involved, including yourself. This may be true even if you were not the one responsible for causing the collision, especially if the other driver also does not have insurance. Most people who drive without insurance think that they can control whether or not they are in an accident because they are “good drivers” or because they think they can just use extraordinary caution. In reality, San Diego car accidents occur all the time involving drivers who exercise the utmost care. The only real way to protect yourself is to have the insurance coverage that you need and that the law requires.

See our related blog posts:

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

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