Walk It Through: The Insurance Card At Home
A stop for a lane drift, a license, a card left on the kitchen table, and a citation that can be dismissed.
On a county highway after dark, a pickup drifts across the lane line twice. A deputy's lights come on behind it.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One stop over a lane and a missing insurance card. A frisk, a dog sniff, a crash report and a driver who really had no insurance are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Financial responsibilityThe insurance, bond or deposit every driver or owner maintains on a vehicle at all times. Failing to maintain it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
- Petty offenseA lesser kind of offense, such as not having the license on the driver. An officer may detain a person only as long as it takes to issue the complaint and summons, and that detention is not an arrest.
- Secondary actionSomething an officer may ask about or enforce only after stopping someone for another reason, such as proof of insurance or a seat belt.
- Class 2 misdemeanorThe lesser misdemeanor class, with a maximum of thirty days in a county jail or a $500 fine, or both.
- Reasonable and prudentThe speed the conditions allow. Driving faster than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions is a Class 2 misdemeanor whatever the posted limit.