Reader’s Question:

My son borrowed my car and drove in Dallas, TX. He went through a check point where law enforcement officer were checking insurance. He presented my insurance card and was told by the law enforcement officer that he could be given a ticket for driving without insurance because his name was not actually on the insurance card. This is really confusing. He borrowed my vehicle with permission and my car was insured. The police officer told him that they would give him a ticket for no insurance if they stopped him again. Can you please explain that to me? People borrow vehicle that are properly insured. They can be given a ticket for driving without insurance if their name is not on the card? Is this correct?

Amy

Dallas, TX

I would suggest that you should check the Texas Department of Public Safety to verify for certain if the police officer could give citation on your son for driving without insurance in this kind of situation because he showed your insurance card instead of one that had her name on it or not. If may be that the police officer could if he was being a stickler for the letter of the law but likely if your son came to court and showed your proof of insurance for the car and then whatever auto insurance he has in his own name that the ticket could be dismissed.

You are correct that people permit others to borrow their cars all the time and usually they show the car owner’s insurance card, but again I would advise you to verify with the TX DPS to check if a car driver must also carry their insurance card on them when driving another person’s car.

Reader’s Question:

If you get stopped in Austin, Texas, does every law enforcement officer have immediate access to insurance records? How do they check if you have car insurance? Will they be able to know immediately? Is it by the person or the vehicle?

Josh

Austin, TX

The State of Texas in 2008 implemented a new technology program that permits law enforcement officers and designated state users to immediately verify if an individual has auto insurance. This new TX Financial Responsibility Verification Program (FRVP) was developed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), and was a joint project mandated by the Texas Legislature and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).

The purpose of the program is to reduce the number of uninsured drivers in Texas by stopping those that use fraudulent or false insurance cards or those that dropped coverage after getting their valid car insurance card. This new verification system gives police officers and other state users real-time immediate access to car insurance information on a given car and/or motorist at their fingertips.