The Oklahoma driver's manual notes that if you receive a ticket for failing to have proof of liability insurance, the courts will notify the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Your driver license and your vehicle tags will be suspended. We believe the notice you received from the DPS is concerning the reinstatement fees for your license and registration, not an additional fine.
Besides these suspensions the penalties the court can hand out for not having insurance include a fine of up to $250, 30 days in jail or both. Again this is on top of the suspension of your license and registration upon conviction of failure to comply with the compulsory insurance law or failure to produce proof of insurance to a law enforcement officer or Public Safety Representative upon request.
As goverment budgets tighten across the nation, local and state jurisdictions are enforcing laws better in order to garner revenue they need. Some areas are getting very aggressive.
Oklahoma has strict laws about having valid auto liability insurance. All Oklahoma drivers and/or vehicle owners are required by law to carry the minimum limits of liability for this state. Oklahoma state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $10,000 per injured person up to a total of $20,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $10,000. This basic coverage is often referred to as 10/20/10 coverage.
Oklahoma Motor Vehicle section 7-606 is the state law for failure to maintain security on a motor vehicle. Here it states that an owner or operator who fails to comply with the Compulsory Insurance Law of OK shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and in addition thereto, shall be subject to suspension of license and registration.
The suspension is mentioned more in the DPS Rules Financial Responsibility chapter, 595:15-1-4, discusses suspension for no vehicle liability insurance. Here is states that when the owner fails to timely furnish proof of vehicle liability insurance or of the Department shall immediately suspend the owner's driving privilege and driver license and the registration(s) and license plate(s) of any uninsured motor vehicle registered in the owner's name. The suspension shall remain in effect until payment of the required fees as provided by statute and proof of insurance is presented.
So while it appears you have taken care of the court side of your penalties, by being convicted of driving without insurance and paying a $211 fine, you have not yet settled up with the DPS in order to reinstate your license and registration. It would appear to us what you received from the OK DPS is a notice of what is required of you to get your driver's license and registration reinstated.
From the notices we have seen it usually explains that the DPS records indicate that you have failed to comply with the compulsory insurance laws of OK and as a result your license and the registration and license plate of the all uninsured vehicles have been suspended. The notice should have gone on to tell you to have your driving privileges and registration reinstated you must do the following:
- Provide proof of current insurance in your name;
- Pay statutory fees in the form of a cashier’s check or money order made payable to the Department of Public Safety (fee amount varies, have seen as high as $350 but you said your notice said $300)
- Clear any other outstanding suspensions and revocations if applicable.
So it would appear to us that the OK DPS is telling you that you need to pay this statutory fee, not fine, amount in order to reinstate your license and registration and thus be able to once again legally drive. If you have already paid and had your license and registration reinstated and the notice did indicate a fine or fee was still due to the DPS than you should contact them directly to discuss your situation.
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