State, county to crack down on uninsured motorists at checkpoints this weekend
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Friday, November 16, 2012
The Oklahoma Insurance Department and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are teaming up to address Oklahoma’s uninsured driver problem by working together to operate driver safety checkpoints in Tulsa County starting on Saturday night and extending into the early hours of Sunday.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said in a prepared statement that one out of every four drivers in Oklahoma does not have the minimum liability coverage required by state law. Doak said that is one reason Oklahoma has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country.
Doak said in the press release that the department’s anti-fraud unit “is excited to work with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and continue our efforts to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on Oklahoma roadways.”
“I’m pleased that Commissioner Doak and I could come together in an attempt to increase traffic enforcement efforts and reduce the number of uninsured motorists operating on our streets and highways within Tulsa County," Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz said.
The first safety checkpoint will be from 7 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday.
The insurance department is also working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on the same issue. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Doak and several members of the anti-fraud unit are scheduled to participate in ride-alongs with OHP troopers.
