Gov. Granholm Gives Michigan Drivers a Pass on Insurance Proof

Michigan drivers who have auto insurance but can’t immediately prove it when stopped by police no longer will face a $300 fine.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill that changes the state’s driver responsibility laws. If motorists can show before their court date they were insured at the time they were cited, they won’t have to pay the fine.

“Law-abidingmotorists across the state can breathe a little easier now,” said Rep. John Garfield, a Republican from Rochester Hills who introduced the bill.

Drivers who already have been affected by the fine will get a refund, Garfield said.

Uninsured motorists, however, will have to pay even higher fees than before—up to $400 in a two-year period. The higher fee will partly make up for the revenue lost by letting insured motorists off the hook.

As many as 32,000 drivers were sent notices of the $300 fine, which took effect only last October, even though many claimed to have insurance. The law was aimed at drivers with a pattern of bad behavior in addition to a lack of proof of insurance.

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