Insurance commissioner rides with trooper on Thanksgiving
BY AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2012
11/22/12 at 1:33 PM
Representatives with the Oklahoma Insurance Commission got a real-time lesson in state law enforcement on Thanksgiving.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak spent the morning riding with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper to see how car insurance, and the lack thereof, affects drivers throughout the state and as a way to express the commission’s appreciation for law enforcement.
“I’ve made this a priority to do,” Doak said. “One, to say thank you to the law enforcement folks around the state of Oklahoma. We really appreciate the job that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol does.”
It was the commissioner’s second year to participate in a ride-along on Thanksgiving Day.
The ride-along is part of a continued public education campaign to raise awareness about the commission’s efforts to enact change.
“Many of the folks that are being stopped … they’d rather pay the fine than pay for the insurance,” he said. “We need to protect those law abiding citizens in the state of Oklahoma that are carrying insurance.”
The commission plans to present a plan to increase the current fine of $250 for driving without insurance in the next legislative session, Doak said.
Staff members with the commission were also stationed with troopers who were conducting insurance checks in Creek County on Thursday.
He called the collaborative efforts of the Insurance Commission and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol a true partnership and said participating in the ride-alongs “gives (his staff) real-time education.”
Associated Images:
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak takes a break from a ride-along on Thursday to speak during a news conference at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol headquarters in Tulsa. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
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